Line's U.S. Crypto Exchange Bitfront Shuts Down
U.S. crypto exchange Bitfront, owned by Japan’s messaging service Line, is closing down in a move apparently unrelated to the recent FTX collapse, citing its desire to work on other blockchain projects. The company suspended all new registrations and credit card payments on Monday, after saying its closure was not tied to “certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.”
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“We have regretfully determined that we need to shut down Bitfront in order to continue growing the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link token economy,” the company said on Sunday.
Starting in December, Line will also suspend all trades, crypto and U.S. dollar deposits, and cancel all open orders. By March 31, 2023, the company will halt all withdrawals on its platforms.
The company says it will delete all personal user data stored by Bitfront 40 days after withdrawals are stopped on its platform on March 31, 2023, though for legal purposes it may retain some information
It is unclear how many U.S. customers will be impacted; the company was not permitted to operate in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Bitfront has been operating in the U.S. since 2020.
The genesis of Line's crypto exchange stems back to 2018, when the company unveiled a crypto exchange called Bitbox in Singapore, followed by Bitmax in 2019, and finally Bitfront in 2020 in the U.S. This coincided with the company releasing Link, its own digital currency.
