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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"399ea610-b1e9-4398-a3b8-3e9cb961791e","kind":"publish","page_slug":"bitforex","published_at":"2026-05-15T03:49:52.989Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Bitforex","sections":[{"content":"Bitforex was founded in 2017 and launched its trading platform in 2018, claiming to be one of the world's largest digital asset exchanges. It was incorporated in Seychelles and represented itself as headquartered in Hong Kong. Investigations by DL News found that the Hong Kong addresses provided by the exchange were virtual office services only, with the company never actually occupying physical premises at its listed locations. CEO Jason Luo, who co-founded the exchange in 2017, was documented as resident in Shenzhen, mainland China — a jurisdiction where virtual asset trading is prohibited. Bitforex claimed to serve over six million registered users at its peak. It was never licensed by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and had not applied for a virtual assets trading platform (VATP) license.","heading":"Background and Operations","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DL News: Hong Kong police probe crypto exchange that vanished with $57m","type":"news","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/hong-kong-police-probe-crypto-exchange-that-shut-with-57m/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"IQ.wiki: BitForex Exchange Profile","type":"official","url":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitforex"}]},{"content":"As early as 2018, Bitforex attracted extensive allegations of wash trading — the practice of artificially inflating reported trading volumes through automated bots executing circular buy/sell orders. The Blockchain Transparency Institute (BTI), in its December 2018 report, found that Bitforex had only approximately 7% of its reported volume deemed authentic, with a reported trade volume ratio of 40,000:1 BTC — meaning the exchange claimed 40,000 BTC worth of trade volume for every 1 BTC entering the platform. For comparison, Bitwise-tracked compliant exchanges showed a ratio of approximately 6:1. Crypto Exchange Ranks and EIN Presswire published reports characterizing Bitforex as the largest wash trading exchange in the world at that time. Separate analysis alleged the exchange charged projects a 10 BTC listing fee by falsely representing inflated volumes, deceiving projects into believing they were listing on a top-tier platform. CoinMarketCap subsequently introduced 7-day and 30-day volume metrics specifically designed to reduce the gaming advantage such platforms held under spot-volume rankings.","heading":"Wash Trading and Fake Volume Allegations (2018–2019)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"EIN Presswire: Bitforex — The Biggest Wash Trading Crypto Exchange in the World","type":"news","url":"https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/477521233/bitforex-the-biggest-wash-trading-crypto-exchange-in-the-world"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CCN: Major Bitcoin Exchanges Accused of Faking Volume","type":"news","url":"https://www.ccn.com/major-bitcoin-exchanges-accused-faking-volume-whos-trustworthy/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Blockchain Transparency Institute December 2018 Report (via Blokt)","type":"news","url":"https://blokt.com/news/blockchain-transparency-institute-december-2018-report-50-exchanges-are-wash-trading-95-of-their-trading-volumes"}]},{"content":"This was not the first time Bitforex suspended withdrawals without adequate explanation. In July 2022, the exchange enacted a withdrawal freeze lasting approximately one month, citing cooperation with unspecified authorities and an internal investigation. No official findings were ever published. Critics identified this earlier suspension as a pattern of liquidity concealment, and the episode was later cited as a precursor to the more severe 2024 collapse.","heading":"2022 Unexplained Withdrawal Freeze","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"MEXC Blog: BitForex Cryptocurrency Exchange Suspends Withdrawals","type":"news","url":"https://blog.mexc.com/bitforex-cryptocurrency-exchange-suspends-withdrawals-goes-silent-on-user-inquiries/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"BitDegree: Crypto Withdrawals Frozen at BitForex Without Explanation","type":"news","url":"https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/news/crypto-withdrawals-frozen-at-bitforex-without-explanation-after-56m-outflow"}]},{"content":"Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a formal warning to Bitforex, alongside Bitget, MEXC Global, and Bybit, citing operation within Japan without proper registration in violation of Article 63-2 of the Act on Settlement of Funds. The FSA demanded the exchange cease offering services to Japanese residents pending proper licensing. Separately, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) added Bitforex to its Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms Alert List on March 4, 2024, following the exchange's collapse. The SFC confirmed that Bitforex had not applied for a license under Hong Kong's VATP regime despite claiming Hong Kong as its operational base. The SFC requested that the Hong Kong Police Force block access to Bitforex's website and associated social media pages.","heading":"Regulatory Warnings: Japan FSA and Hong Kong SFC","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Japan Regulator Flags Four Crypto Exchanges Including Bybit for Operating Without Registration","type":"official","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/04/03/japan-regulator-flags-four-crypto-exchanges-including-bybit-for-operating-without-registration"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoTimes: Hong Kong's SFC Flags BitForex for Alleged Cryptocurrency Fraud","type":"news","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/03/04/hong-kongs-sfc-flags-bitforex-for-alleged-cryptocurrency-fraud/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Hong Kong Markets Regulator Issues Warning Against Crypto Exchange BitForex","type":"official","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/04/hong-kongs-markets-regulator-issues-warning-against-crypto-exchange-bitforex"}]},{"content":"CEO Jason Luo resigned on January 31, 2024, offering no public explanation and without naming a successor after six years at the helm. His departure preceded the exchange's collapse by approximately three weeks. DL News reported that Luo was documented as residing in Shenzhen, China, and his Telegram account showed as recently active but left journalist inquiries unread. On February 21, 2024, Bitforex's Telegram channel and social media accounts ceased all posting and responses. The community manager went silent and changed her profile picture. The exchange began selectively deleting user messages that flagged the emerging problems.","heading":"CEO Departure and Pre-Collapse Signals","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Decrypt: Exit Scam? Bitcoin Exchange BitForex Shutters After $57M Mysteriously Withdrawn","type":"news","url":"https://decrypt.co/219012/exit-scam-bitforex-shutters-after-57-million-withdrawn"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DL News: Hong Kong police probe crypto exchange that vanished with $57m","type":"news","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/hong-kong-police-probe-crypto-exchange-that-shut-with-57m/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Halborn: Explained: The BitForex Rug Pull (February 2024)","type":"news","url":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-bitforex-rug-pull-february-2024"}]},{"content":"On February 23, 2024, on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly reported that Bitforex's hot wallets had experienced outflows of approximately $56.5 million across multiple blockchain networks. The Distributed Networks Institute identified three primary addresses associated with the extraction: Ethereum address 0xdcacd7eb6692b816b6957f8898c1c4b63d1fc01f, Tron address TQcnqaU4NDTR86eA4FZneeKfJMiQi7i76o, and Bitcoin address 3DbbF7yxCR7ni94ANrRkfV12rJoxrmo1o2. The breakdown of extracted assets included approximately 471,414 TRB (Tellor) tokens valued at roughly $54.2 million, 148 ETH (~$444,000), 258,700 USDC, 40,771 USDT, 657,698 USDT on Tron, 44,000 TRX (~$6,072), and 5.7 BTC (~$290,000). Forensic analysis identified the pattern as a controlled extraction rather than an external hack: an initial test transaction of 0.01 ETH was followed by a 58-hour pause before the bulk transfers occurred on February 23. Bitforex held approximately 18% of the total supply of Tellor (TRB) and approximately 7% of the Ecomi (OMI) token supply. Following the TRB extraction, the OMI token crashed approximately 88%, from $0.0069 to $0.00078. Immediately after the outflows, the exchange halted all user withdrawals and the website became inaccessible, displaying a Cloudflare block message.","heading":"February 2024 Exit Scam: On-Chain Evidence","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Distributed Networks Institute: BitForex Exit Scam Incident Report","type":"onchain","url":"https://dn.institute/research/cyberattacks/incidents/2024-02-23-bitforex/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT via Decrypt: Exit Scam? Bitcoin Exchange BitForex Shutters After $57M Mysteriously Withdrawn","type":"news","url":"https://decrypt.co/219012/exit-scam-bitforex-shutters-after-57-million-withdrawn"},{"credibility":2,"name":"The Block: BitForex website blocks users after apparent $57 million hot wallet withdrawals","type":"news","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/279086/bitforex-hot-wallet-withdrawals"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Bitcoin.com: Crypto Exchange Bitforex Suspends Withdrawals Following $56.5M Drain From Hot Wallets","type":"news","url":"https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-exchange-bitforex-suspends-withdrawals-following-56-5m-drain-from-hot-wallets/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Halborn: Explained: The BitForex Rug Pull (February 2024)","type":"news","url":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-bitforex-rug-pull-february-2024"}]},{"content":"Following the exchange's disappearance, a Telegram group titled 'Scammed by BitForex' accumulated over 150 members, with documented cases including one investor who lost approximately $185,000 in Solana. Nearly 800 affected users organized to coordinate complaints. Hong Kong's Commercial Crime Bureau confirmed it was 'looking into' the case. The SFC received multiple investor complaints and requested the police block access to Bitforex's website and social media pages. Bitforex was added to the SFC's Suspicious Virtual Asset Trading Platforms Alert List on March 4, 2024, and the SFC issued a public advisory warning investors not to use the platform.","heading":"User Impact and Law Enforcement Response","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DL News: Hong Kong police probe crypto exchange that vanished with $57m","type":"news","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/hong-kong-police-probe-crypto-exchange-that-shut-with-57m/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"FullyCrypto: Commercial Crime Bureau to Investigate BitForex Disappearance","type":"news","url":"https://fullycrypto.com/commercial-crime-bureau-to-investigate-bitforex-disappearance"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CryptoTimes: Hong Kong's SFC Flags BitForex for Alleged Cryptocurrency Fraud","type":"official","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2024/03/04/hong-kongs-sfc-flags-bitforex-for-alleged-cryptocurrency-fraud/"}]},{"content":"On July 19, 2024 — approximately five months after the collapse — Bitforex posted on X (formerly Twitter) claiming its team had been detained and investigated by the Jiangsu Province police in China. The exchange stated that staff had returned to China from Singapore for the Lunar New Year holiday when they were taken into custody. Bitforex announced that withdrawals would reopen on July 24, 2024 at 20:00 GMT+8, but only for users who completed KYC identity verification. Trading and deposits would remain suspended. The exchange indicated that after processing user withdrawals it would cease all operations and undergo a 'comprehensive rectification.' The veracity of the detention narrative has not been independently confirmed by Chinese authorities, and observers noted the account diverged significantly from the on-chain evidence of a controlled extraction.","heading":"Alleged Chinese Police Investigation and Reopening","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"Bitforex official X post (July 2024)","type":"official","url":"https://x.com/bitforexcom/status/1814314174782255524"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinTelegraph: Bitforex reopens for withdrawals after police investigation","type":"news","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-exchange-bitforex-withdrawals-police-investigation"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: BitForex to Open for Withdrawals Following Chinese Police Investigation","type":"news","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/07/19/bitforex-to-open-for-withdrawals-following-chinese-police-investigation"}]},{"content":"In late 2024 and into 2025, on-chain investigator EyeOnChain linked a Hyperliquid trader allegedly holding over 100,000 BTC — with positions valued at approximately $11 billion — to Garrett Jin (also known as Jason Luo), the former CEO of Bitforex. The investigation traced the whale's main wallet, ereignis.eth, to the ENS domain garrettjin.eth, which was connected to Jin's verified X account @GarrettBullish. The analysis found the addresses had received over 570,000 ETH, which was subsequently deposited into Ethereum's Beacon Deposit Contract for staking through a company named XHash. The same address allegedly opened a $735 million BTC short at 10x leverage on October 7, 2024, followed by a $353 million ETH short. Jin denied ownership of the funds, stating 'The fund isn't mine — it's my clients'' and described himself as a node operator providing market insights. The connection between Bitforex exit funds and the whale wallet was alleged but not definitively proven as of available reporting.","heading":"Former CEO Garrett Jin Linked to Hyperliquid BTC Whale (2025)","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CoinTelegraph: Investigation Links 100K BTC Hyperliquid Whale to Former BitForex CEO","type":"news","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hyperliquid-whale-linked-former-bitforex-ceo"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Cryptopolitan: Onchain investigator ties Hyperliquid whale to former BitForex CEO","type":"news","url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/hyperliquid-whale-former-bitforex-ceo/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CCN: How On-Chain Data Linked a $11B Hyperliquid Whale to BitForex's Former CEO","type":"news","url":"https://www.ccn.com/education/crypto/on-chain-data-11b-bitcoin-hyperliquid-whale-bitforex-former-ceo-garrett-jin/"}]}],"sources_used":[],"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.","timeline":[{"date":"2017-01","event":"Bitforex founded by Jason Luo (also known as Garrett Jin), incorporated in Seychelles, representing Hong Kong as its operational base.","source":"IQ.wiki / DL News","source_url":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitforex"},{"date":"2018-07","event":"First wash trading allegations published by CryptoExchangeRank; Bitforex accused of faking the vast majority of its reported trading volume.","source":"EIN Presswire","source_url":"https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/477521233/bitforex-the-biggest-wash-trading-crypto-exchange-in-the-world"},{"date":"2018-12","event":"Blockchain Transparency Institute December 2018 report finds Bitforex has only ~7% authentic volume, with a 40,000:1 BTC trade volume ratio.","source":"Blokt / BTI","source_url":"https://blokt.com/news/blockchain-transparency-institute-december-2018-report-50-exchanges-are-wash-trading-95-of-their-trading-volumes"},{"date":"2022-07","event":"Bitforex enacts its first unexplained withdrawal freeze, lasting approximately one month, citing an internal investigation. No findings are published.","source":"MEXC Blog","source_url":"https://blog.mexc.com/bitforex-cryptocurrency-exchange-suspends-withdrawals-goes-silent-on-user-inquiries/"},{"date":"2023-04","event":"Japan's FSA issues a formal warning to Bitforex for operating without registration in Japan, in violation of the Act on Settlement of Funds.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/04/03/japan-regulator-flags-four-crypto-exchanges-including-bybit-for-operating-without-registration"},{"date":"2024-01-31","event":"CEO Jason Luo resigns with no explanation and no named successor, after six years leading the exchange.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/hong-kong-police-probe-crypto-exchange-that-shut-with-57m/"},{"date":"2024-02-21","event":"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.","source":"Distributed Networks Institute / Halborn","source_url":"https://dn.institute/research/cyberattacks/incidents/2024-02-23-bitforex/"},{"date":"2024-02-23","event":"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.","source":"Decrypt / The Block / ZachXBT","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/219012/exit-scam-bitforex-shutters-after-57-million-withdrawn"},{"date":"2024-03-04","event":"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.","source":"CoinDesk / CryptoTimes","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/03/04/hong-kongs-markets-regulator-issues-warning-against-crypto-exchange-bitforex"},{"date":"2024-07-19","event":"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.","source":"CoinDesk / CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/07/19/bitforex-to-open-for-withdrawals-following-chinese-police-investigation"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"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.","source":"CoinTelegraph / Cryptopolitan","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/hyperliquid-whale-linked-former-bitforex-ceo"}]},"v":1}