Liquid crypto exchange halts all customer withdrawals

• Liquid is an FTX-owned crypto exchange based in Japan and which Sam Bankman-Fried acquired in February this year.

Liquid, a Japan-based cryptocurrency exchange acquired by bankrupt crypto exchange FTX in February this year, has halted all withdrawals and deposits.

The exchange, which announced this via Twitter on Tuesday, said the decision to pause all crypto and fiat withdrawals is down to the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings involving FTX and about 130 of its affiliate companies.

Fiat and crypto withdrawals have been suspended on Liquid Global in compliance with the requirements of voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States.

We will provide updates when available.

— Liquid Global Official (@Liquid_Global) November 15, 2022

Not long after, the exchange posted an update advising users not to also deposit their crypto or fiat to the platform.

“Fiat and crypto withdrawals have been suspended on Liquid Global in compliance with the requirements of voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States. Until further notice we would suggest to not deposit either FIAT or Crypto. We will provide updates when available,” Liquid Global tweeted on 15 November.

According to the Liquid Global team, the Chapter 11 filing by FTX impacts Quoine Pte. Ltd, the company that operated the Liquid Exchange and which FTX acquired earlier in the year.  The exchange says the halt on all withdrawals is not security-related.

Liquid temporarily suspended both fiat and crypto withdrawals on 12 November, soon after FTX shocked the crypto world with a Chapter 11 filing. The halt also came after FTX announced it had been hacked, with the security breach seeing millions of dollars in crypto assets stolen.

The Japanese exchange however temporarily resumed crypto withdrawal services after what it said had been “thorough security checks of internal systems.” 

The platform had also noted afterwards that its customer funds had not been impacted by FTX’s insolvency.