Users of Hong Kong Crypto Exchange Coinsuper Say They Cannot Withdraw Funds

Multiple users of Hong Kong-based exchange Coinsuper have been unable to withdraw funds from the platform since late November, according to messages on Coinsuper’s official Telegram channel.

The fiasco sheds a negative light on crypto exchanges, which are at the center of Hong Kong’s evolving crypto regulation. The government plans to propose a bill that will make licensing for exchanges mandatory in the 2021-2022 legislative session.
Bloomberg first reported the news on Friday. According to the Bloomberg article, at least seven people have filed police reports, and the Hong Kong police is investigating the case of a person who bought crypto “via an investment company” and has been unable to withdraw money since December.
On the Telegram channel, the administrator has stopped replying to messages.
One trader who has been using Coinsuper since 2018 told CoinDesk that they had lost access to $20,000 in deposits, haven’t heard from the administrator since Dec. 1 and so have notified the police.
Coinsuper had $14 million in trading volume in the past 24 hours, a tiny fraction of Binance’s $22 billion 24-hour volume, data from CoinMarketCap shows. At its peak in late 2019, Coinsuper handled $1.3 billion in daily volume, Bloomberg wrote.
One of the venture capitalists that had backed Coinsuper told Bloomberg that they had completely written off their $1 million investment in the exchange. Six to eight months ago, the VC lost contact with the exchange’s management team, while Chairman and CEO Karen Chen stopped responding on WeChat, Bloomberg said. Chen is the former president of UBS China.
Between July and December, several employees also left the company, according to the report.
The exchange, founded in 2017, is backed by Pantera Capital, which still lists Coinsuper as a portfolio company on its website.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.

Eliza Gkritsi

Eliza Gkritsi is a CoinDesk contributor focused on the intersection of crypto and AI.

Follow @egreechee on Twitter

Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.

10 Years of Decentralizing the Future