Due to the prolonged crypto winter, the Japanese messaging giant Line has decided to liquidate its cryptocurrency exchange Bitfront. The exchange made the official announcement on November 27 that it will cease operations entirely by March 2023.
According to the statement, the primary reasons for the shutdown were various issues that have been plaguing the bitcoin sector as well as the current bear market in cryptocurrencies. According to the release, even though the exchange is closing down, Line will continue to run its other blockchain initiatives. These projects include the Line blockchain ecosystem as well as the Link (LN) token.
Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down Bitfront in order to continue growing the Line blockchain ecosystem and LINK token economy. Please note that this decision was made for the best interest of the LINE blockchain ecosystem and is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.
Bitfront said in a November 27 announcement
Bitfront is going to gradually stop offering its services, with the last day for signups and credit card payments being November 28. It is the intention of the platform to cease paying interest payments on LN interest products as of the middle of December and to cease taking new deposits by that time.
By the end of December, Bitfront intends to put a stop to the depositing of any cryptocurrency or fiat cash, as well as to the suspension of trading and the cancellation of orders. According to the notification that Bitfront published on November 27, all withdrawals will be entirely halted as of March 31, 2023; nevertheless, users will still be able to collect their assets in a variety of US jurisdictions.
