(BlockBar) Bitsane LP, registered in Dublin, was listed as one of the approved exchanges for Ripple in 2016. A CNBC article in January 2018 also listed the exchange as an option for investors because it allowed them to buy and sell Ripple’s XRP, which at the time was not listed on Coinbase, the most popular U.S. cryptocurrency exchange. Bitsane counted 246,000 registered users as of May 30, 2019, and traded just over $7 million a day as of March 31, according to CoinMarketCap.
Users of the exchange told Forbes that bitcoin, XRP and other cryptocurrencies have been unable to withdraw cash since May. The support group of Bitsane wrote in an email that the withdrawal function was temporarily disabled for technical reasons. On June 17, the website Bitsane went offline, with its twitter and Facebook accounts deleted. Emails sent to multiple Bitsane’s mailboxes were returned because they were undeliverable. Bitsane exchange offers trading in cryptocurrencies and is popular as one of the major XRP exchange platforms, but it is disconnected from social network accounts. Exchange users make sure they can lose between $5,000 and $150,000 in cryptocurrency. The total amount is to millions of dollars. On the CoinMarketCap, Bitsane’s operational information didn’t update news over 10 days.
In addition, Forbes could not reach the exchange’s chief executive, Aidas Rupsys, or its chief technology officer, Dmitry Prudnikov, during its investigation. It found out that Mr. Prudnikov’s linkedin profile have been deleted. Neither he nor Rupsys could be reached for comment.
One anonymous user, claimed to have lost $150,000, according to Forbes.
“I was trying to transfer XRP out to bitcoin or cash or anything, and it kept saying ‘temporarily disabled.’ I knew right away there was some kind of problem”
From some data, Bitsane Limited, another company founded by Maksim Zmitrovich, may be linked to the theft of cryptocurrencies on the Bistane exchange. Forbes tried to talk to Zmitrovich, but he denied involvement and said he hadn’t spoken to prudnikov in more than five months.
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