Breaking: Hotbit Allegedly Goes on Selling Rampage, Rugpull Attempt?

There are suspicions that cryptocurrency trading platform Hotbit may have initiated a rugpull attempt on its customers. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) project RichQuack announced on Twitter that it had experienced a rugpull orchestrated by Hotbit. Based on the tweet, the crypto trading platform allegedly sold 256 Trillion QUACK tokens which belong to $QUACK holders on the PancakeSwap platform.

Altogether, the tokens were worth approximately $153,800 at the time of this writing.

RichQuack Accuses Hotbit of Rugpull

Again, RichQuack claimed that its balance of around $100,000 in crypto, specifically USDT and QUACK went missing on the Hotbit platform. 

The DeFi project’s attempts to proceed with withdrawal have not been approved and until now, RichQuack says no answer has been given. BabyDogeCoin (BABYDOGE) and DogelonMars (ELON) seem to have been affected by the alleged rugpull. 

Some on-chain data insights have suggested that the exchange is busy engaging in dumping activities across different projects. According to BSC Scan, Hotbit has dumped 4,000 BNB worth of BABYDOGE on PancakeSwap and another $500,000 worth of ELON on Uniswap. 

Apart from RichQuack, no other projects or investors have reported any breach or attack so far.

Hotbit Shuts Down CEX Operations

Noteworthy, the trading platform announced its decision to shutter its centralized exchange operations in June citing deteriorating operating conditions and changes in the broader crypto ecosystem. 

All users were, therefore, advised to withdraw their assets before June 21st. Before this tough decision was made, Hotbit had suspended withdrawals and deposits on its platform since August 2022 in the heat of the crypto winter. 

Law enforcement agencies had confiscated its assets during a criminal investigation that concerned a former employee. However, the firm was impacted much more by the implosion and bankruptcy filing of FTX Derivatives Exchange which happened in November. As Hotbit put it, the FTX collapse led to “continuous outflows of funds from CEX users … and deteriorating cash flow.”

Since the closure of its CEX operations, not much has been heard concerning the defunct crypto exchange until now. No official response has been made by Hotbit.