On Monday, November 20, 2023, another crypto exchange bit the dust, following an announcement by Bittrex Global that effective Monday, December 4, 2023, all trading activity on its exchange will be disabled.
The collapse of Bittrex Global, one of the global crypto exchanges, adds to the list of over 60 exchanges that ceased crypto-related operations in 2023.
Effective Monday 4 December 2023, all trading activity on Bittrex Global will be disabled. After that date, customers will only be able to withdraw assets as part of the winding down process.
Bittres Global tweeted
It is with great regret that we inform you that Bittrex Global has decided to wind down its operations.
— Bittrex Global (@BittrexGlobal) November 20, 2023
Effective Monday 4 December 2023, all trading activity on Bittrex Global will be disabled. After that date, customers will only be able to withdraw assets as part of the…
Crypto Exchanges That Closed Down in 2023
The affected exchanges shut down due to scams, unknown business reasons, due to hacks, and disappearance among other reasons.
In reverse chronological order, here is the full list of crypto exchanges that have so far shut down in 2023:
- Bittrex: December 4
- Bitsten: August 31
- BITUNIVEX: June 30
- Bithoven: June 30
- STEX.com: June 20
- COSS: June 16
- MoonXBT: June 1
- BitexCrypto Shops: May 15
- CoinFLEX: April 28
- Swipe Swap: March 23
- Bitni.com: March 23
- VDollar Exchange: March 23
- KKEX: March 23
- YellowMoon Exchange: March 23
- eXFi Exchange: March 23
- Bitvast: March 23
- Unodax: March 23
- CROSS Exchange: March 23
- CBX: March 23
- Cryptex: March 23
- BitQuick: March 23
- Serenity Exchange: March 23
- WhaleEx: March 23
- BitOnBay: March 23
- Dsdaq: March 23
- Vero Exchange: March 23
- BitOffer: March 23
- Hanbitco: March 23
- Coingi; March 23
- CoinCasso: March 23
- BitWell: March 23
- BITEXBOOK: March 23
- InfinityCoin Exchange: March 23
- TomoDEX: March 23
- NevBit: March 23
- Btcswe: March 23
- Bleutrade: March 23
- Bitwells: March 23
- AltcoinSwap: March 23
- Tokencan: March 23
- FinexBox: March 23
- RippleFox: March 23
- Aryana Exchange: March 23
- Bvnex: March 23
- Cryptofresh: March 23
- YunEx: March 23
- Switcheo Exchange: March 23
- EtherDelta: March 23
- RuDEX; March 23
- Koinbazar: February 24
- The Rock Trading: February 21
- CoinDeal: February 19
- LocalBitcoins: February 9
- Bitladon: February 1
- Brokereo: January 26
- Coindirect: January 24
- Bitzlato: Janaury 19
- Bamboo Relay: January 11
- AAX: January 11
- BigoMex: January 11
- Decoin Exchange: January 11
- CTrade: January 11
- Liquid: January 7
- Titanex: January 3
According to cryptoWisser.com‘s and analyzed by Infomediang, 6.34% of the crypto exchanges closed down because of scams, including Bisten, YellowMoon Exchange, Vero Exchange, and FinexBox.
It also revealed that 42.86% of exchanges were labeled MIA, they disappeared without updating their customers why they closed operations.
Among this list that disappeared without any detail include: Bithoven, Swipe Swap, CBX, CoinCasso, Bitwells, AAX, Decoin Exchange, and Titanex. In all, over 400 exchanges have failed since 2014.
Percentage of affected categories
Out of this, 12.7% of exchanges are decentralized; 66.67% are centralized exchanges; 7.94% fall under the contract trading exchanges; 4.76% of P2P marketplaces were affected, while 6.34% and 1.58% are cryptocurrency shops and crypto brokers were affected respectively.
The popular crypto platforms that closed in Africa
LocalBitcoins: One of the shutdowns that hit the African crypto community was LocalBitcoins, when its founder Jeremias Kangas announced in a Tweet on February 9, 2023, that the P2P crypto exchange was shutting down.
The popular peer-to-peer platform is one of the earliest and most popular peer-to-peer platforms in the crypto ecosystem, ending its Bitcoin trading service.
Bundle Africa: Bundle Africa also announced its diversification in July 2023 to focus on its P2P product dubbed, “cashlink” But our last check (October 3, 2023) showed that the platform is back to business.
Other reasons:
- In total 24 were shut down for unknown business reasons, STEX.com, a centralized exchange, closed down due to a hack it could not recover from.
- Three of such platforms: Bitladon, Koinbazar, and CoinFLEX were affected due to rebranding.
- BTCswe, Brokereo, Bitzlato, and Liquid shut down in 2023 due to regulatory reasons.
- It is important to point out that any crypto exchanges that operate in an unfriendly environment such as China, Bolivia, and Indonesia may face huge regulatory pressure from the host countries.
- Some exchanges may find it challenging to keep up with the operation requirements.
