Palo Alto crypto exchange Bitfront to close amid industry turmoil
© Kin Cheung, STF / Associated Press
An advertisement for Bitcoin is displayed on a building in Hong Kong in 2021. Bitfront is the latest cryptocurrency exchange to close, following the bankruptcy of FTX earlier this month.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfront is shutting down, the latest casualty during a time of major turmoil for the industry.
The Palo Alto-based company is backed by Japanese messenger app maker Line Corp. It said its closure was unrelated to “certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct,” in what appeared to be a reference to FTX, the company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this month and is the target of multiple government investigations.
“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,” the company posted on its website earlier this week. The website was inaccessible on Wednesday.
Sign-ups and deposits have been halted, trading will be suspended by the end of the year, and existing customers have until March 31 to withdraw their funds.
It wasn’t clear how many employees Bitfront has.
Kraken, another exchange, said Wednesday it was laying off 30% of its workforce or around 1,100 people. Crypto company BlockFi, which received a $400 million loan from FTX, filed for bankruptcy on Monday, saying it had “significant exposure” to FTX.
The price of bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, has plunged around 65% this year.
Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
