BitGrail Exchange Ordered to Cease its Operations by the Court of Florence, Italy

The cryptocurrency exchange, BitGrail is now ordered by the three-judge panel in Florence, Italy to cease its operation immediately. In February, the exchange was hacked that resulted in the loss of about $170 million Nano and went through a series of blame game between the Nano team and BitGrail exchange along the way.

BitGrail exchange finally gets shut down

Italy-based popular cryptocurrency exchange, BitGrail that lost 17 million Nano in February that

was valued at over $170 million at the time of hack has now been officially ordered to cease all of its operations by a three-judge panel in Florence, Italy.

The exchange announced the news with:

“This morning, following the re-opening, we were notified of a deed by the court of Florence requesting the immediate closure of BitGrail and this situation will persist until a decision is made by the courts, about the precautionary suspension request made by the Bonelli law office on behalf of a client.”

The decision is scheduled for May 16, 2018, while the news blog of the exchange further adds: “Even though we don’t agree with this decision, we are obliged to respect the law and to suspend any BitGrail business immediately.”

Now, the Court of Florence has ordered BitGrail to cease its operation immediately. With an immediate effect, a criminal sanction can also be imposed on BitGrail if the order is violated. Also,  in the meantime trustees are appointed to secure the assets of BitGrail.

Also, read: Morgan Stanley Making its Way into Crypto Industry

BitGrail saga with its twists & turns

Though the news of hacks in the cryptocurrency world is nothing new, the theft of Nano cryptocurrency from BitGrail exchange has its shares of twists and turns. It started in January when Nano team and BitGrail pointed fingers at each other. It’s still unclear if there was an issue with the blockchain of Nano or BitGrail’s security wasn’t up to the par.

Later on, BitGrail announced that it will refund the missing Nano by minting BitGrail Shares tokens on the condition that the users won’t be allowed to sue them while both the sides refused to take the blame for the hack.

The recent developments it the case came in the form of a petition asking the Italian court to declare the crypto exchange bankrupt. Majority of the victims were concerned about their assets getting further depleted and “prefer an immediate accounting of BitGrail’s assets in bankruptcy.”

In response to the lawsuit, the Nano Foundation came up with a legal fund for BitGrail exchange Victims to provide them with legal representation.

With the court’s order, looks like this case will finally wrap up which after so many twists and turn needs to be concluded.

Do you think BitGrail hack victims will finally get the reprieve and the worth of their lost Nano? Share your thoughts with us!