A second bitcoin exchange collapses in turkey amid crackdown on cryptocurrencies
A second cryptocurrency exchange has collapsed in Turkey amid a crackdown on the industry.
The platform, Vebitcoin, said in a brief statement on its website that it has ceased all activities after facing financial strain and that it would update clients on the situation as soon as possible.
Days earlier, Thodex, went offline with its CEO reportedly leaving the country. Local media reports say Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer flew to Albania, taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him.
Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for Ozer, while 62 people were detained in connection with complaints filed against Thodex.
Turkish authorities have blocked Vebitcoin’s domestic bank accounts and detained four people as part of a probe into the exchange.
According to CoinGecko data, Vebitcoin had almost $60 million in daily trading volumes prior to its collapse.
as a way to protect their savings from skyrocketing inflation and the weakening of its currency, the lira. But there have been growing calls for regulation of the market due to concerns around fraudulent activity.
Earlier this month, Turkey’s central bank banned the use of digital assets for payments.
And President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for swift regulation, warning of pyramid schemes emerging in the crypto markets.
Crypto investors believe the industry has matured significantly in the last three years, with more institutional investors and corporate backers like Tesla entering the market.
Read Also: Elon Musk SpaceX Wins $2.9B NASA Contract to Send Humans to Moon
Whats your take on this? Kindly share by commenting on these article.
