Bitforex
Summary
Bitforex was a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017, registered in Seychelles and operating under a Hong Kong address, which collapsed in February 2024 after approximately $56.5 million was drained from its hot wallets across Ethereum, Tron, and Bitcoin in a controlled fund extraction widely characterized as an exit scam. The exchange had a documented history of wash trading allegations dating to 2018, a prior unexplained withdrawal freeze in 2022, regulatory warnings from Japan's FSA and Hong Kong's SFC, and operated without a license in the jurisdictions it claimed as home. Following the collapse, team members were allegedly detained by Jiangsu Province police in China, and the exchange briefly reopened for KYC-verified withdrawals in July 2024 before announcing permanent closure.
Connected Entities
3 entities- 3DbbF7yxCR7ni94ANrRkfV12rJoxrmo1o2→mentioned with→Bitforex(50%)
- TQcnqaU4NDTR86eA4FZneeKfJMiQi7i76o→mentioned with→Bitforex(50%)
- + 3 more
Timeline(11 events)
2017-01
Bitforex founded by Jason Luo (also known as Garrett Jin), incorporated in Seychelles, representing Hong Kong as its operational base.
IQ.wiki / DL News2018-07
First wash trading allegations published by CryptoExchangeRank; Bitforex accused of faking the vast majority of its reported trading volume.
EIN Presswire2018-12
Blockchain Transparency Institute December 2018 report finds Bitforex has only ~7% authentic volume, with a 40,000:1 BTC trade volume ratio.
Blokt / BTI2022-07
Bitforex enacts its first unexplained withdrawal freeze, lasting approximately one month, citing an internal investigation. No findings are published.
MEXC Blog2023-04
Japan's FSA issues a formal warning to Bitforex for operating without registration in Japan, in violation of the Act on Settlement of Funds.
CoinDesk2024-01-31
CEO Jason Luo resigns with no explanation and no named successor, after six years leading the exchange.
DL News2024-02-21
Bitforex ceases all social media activity and community communications. A test transaction of 0.01 ETH is sent from a hot wallet — the first signal of the extraction sequence.
Distributed Networks Institute / Halborn2024-02-23
Approximately $56.5 million drained from Bitforex hot wallets across Ethereum, Tron, and Bitcoin in a controlled extraction. Withdrawals halted. Website goes offline. ZachXBT identifies and reports the outflows on-chain.
Decrypt / The Block / ZachXBT2024-03-04
Hong Kong SFC adds Bitforex to its Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms Alert List and requests Hong Kong Police Force block access to the exchange's website and social media. Commercial Crime Bureau confirms investigation.
CoinDesk / CryptoTimes2024-07-19
Bitforex breaks five months of silence via X, claiming team members had been detained by Jiangsu Province police in China since February 23. Exchange announces withdrawals will reopen for KYC-verified users on July 24, with trading and deposits remaining suspended permanently.
CoinDesk / CoinTelegraph2025-04
On-chain investigator EyeOnChain alleges former Bitforex CEO Garrett Jin is the Hyperliquid whale holding over 100,000 BTC (~$11 billion), traced via ENS domains ereignis.eth and garrettjin.eth. Jin denies ownership.
CoinTelegraph / CryptopolitanDecision Log
- hash: 6uUmJu3W9rYJPFe6vBnBo79UKFCqPQXhzfuDgLc1ZAdi
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 4:04:56 PM
last updated: 5/26/2026, 4:11:13 AM
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