Over the past several months, there have been numerous rumours citing cryptocurrency platform Bitfinex (as well as its stablecoin, Tether) filing for insolvency. However, the company has released a strong statement, saying that the company is not insolvent and by stating that there have been a large stream of articles, particularly on the blogging platform Medium, which claim otherwise - but are false.
Bitfinex released a strongly worded blog post, clarifying that there are no financial issues in the organization. The company even showcased three of their cold wallets (holding Bitcoins, Ethereum and EOS) to show that they do have funds and that this is not a problem for the company. Here’s a statement from the Bitfinex blog post:
Bitfinex is not insolvent, and a constant stream of Medium articles claiming otherwise is not going to change this. As one of only a very few exchanges operating since 2013, with a small team and low operating costs, we do not entirely understand the arguments that purport to show us to be insolvent without providing any explanation about why.
Here are the three wallets that Bitfinex shared to prove their point that they are not insolvent. Clicking on the links would take the visitors to a page which shows the flow of funds in those wallets as well as their cryptocurrency holding. As of this writing, their Bitcoin wallet holds 148,467.26 BTC (worth 978,126,090.18 in USD), the Ethereum wallet holds 1,701,273.0860860235 ETH (worth $381,595,553.21 in USD) and their EOS wallet holds 35,374,975.1071 EOS.
Bitfinex BTC Cold Wallet
Bitfinex EOS Cold Wallet
Bitfinex ETH Cold Wallet
The company further states that these wallets represent only a fraction of their total holding and do not take into account the fiat currencies owned by the company.
Bitfinex further clarified that their fiat withdrawals as well as cryptocurrency withdrawals are both functioning normally and that verified users of the platform are free to withdraw in any currency of their choice (Euros, Japanese Yen, Pounds Sterling or U.S. Dollars). The company also addressed the fact that there have been some fiat cash related issues that they have faced over time - but has also added they are normal for any cryptocurrency-related organization. Bitfinex comments:
Complications continue to exist for us in the domain of fiat transactions, as they do for most cryptocurrency-related organisations. However, we continue to do our utmost to minimise any waiting times associated with fiat deposits and withdrawals...Stories and allegations currently circulating mentioning an entity called Noble Bank have no impact on our operations, survivability, or solvency.
What could further add credibility to Bitfinex’s claim that they are going strong is their latest partnership with a new banking partner, HSBC bank. The HSBC bank is one of the most reputed financial institutions in the world and has a global presence. This is their second major banking partnership after tying up with Wells Fargo in 2017. It will be interesting to see how this pans out for the future of this cryptocurrency heavyweight.
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