Bitcoin Bear Market Forces Korea’s Fifth-Largest Crypto Exchange to Close
By CCN: The bitcoin bear market might be over, but it hasn’t finished claiming victims. Coinnest — South Korea’s fifth-largest crypto exchange — shut down this week. Users have until April 30 to withdraw any remaining funds.
The closure comes months after a series of scandals roiled the crypto platform.
In a notice to users on its website, Coinnest did not explain why it was shuttering, but thanked customers for their encouragement and patronage.
South Korean crypto exchange Coinnest is another victim of the bitcoin bear market. | Coinnest
Bribery and $5 Million Accidental Bitcoin Airdrop
As CCN reported, Coinnest has suffered a series of embarrassing, self-destructive scandals over the past year.
In April 2018, two Coinnest executives were charged for accepting bribes to list multiple cryptocurrencies on the exchange.
Then, in January 2019, Coinnest accidentally airdropped more than $5 million in bitcoin and Korean won to customers due to a computer error. The exchange asked users to return the misdirected funds, but were unable to recover much of the lost money.