Nightmares come aplenty for crypto-asset holders in Turkey these days.
Another hard blow was dealt with cryptocurrency investors just as this dismal week came to an end when another big exchange experienced collapse and its Chief Executive ended up being detained.
It has been confirmed that Vebitcoin, the fourth biggest crypto exchange in Turkey, having daily volumes of close to $60 million, has stopped all of its operations due to deteriorating financial conditions. Following this, a post from Bloomberg cited a report from Demiroren News Agency that said Vebitcoin’s Chief Executive Ilker Bas, along with three other employees, were taken into custody by police.
In line with this matter, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (FCIB) has blocked all the exchange’s accounts and has launched an investigation.
What happened?
An official statement from Vebitcoin said the company stopped its operations “in order to fulfill all regulations and claims.”
The company explained that “due to recent developments in the crypto money industry, there was a much higher density in our operations than expected, “Reuters reported.
Further giving its side of the story, Vebitcoin also disclosed, “We would like to state with regret that this situation has led us to a very difficult process.”
Because of that, the accounts of the exchange were blocked, and investigations began rolling.
Nightmarish April for crypto in Turkey
Just a few weeks ago, the crypto market was already pummeled by the decision of the Turkish government to ban all payments using cryptocurrencies owing to the damage it can inflict and its irreversible nature, along with the fact that full regulation on digital assets has yet to be implemented.
As if that wasn’t enough, a few days ago, Thodex, a heavyweight in crypto exchange in Turkey, also stopped its operations, and its CEO left the country, leaving almost 400,000 customers unable to access their funds.
Reports claimed that the company official ran away with more or less $2 billion worth of funds. Investors and authorities call it a massive scam.
Vebitcoin’s fall compounded the pain for crypto-asset holders in the country who were still recovering from all the beating they took from lost funds just this month of April.
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