A recent report alleging that Singapore-headquartered crypto exchange Bitrue is stealing users’ crypto assets is grabbing attention in the XRP community.
A notable XRP and Flare community pundit, “PapaBear,” initiated the complaint against Bitrue on Tuesday. In a viral video, he shared how he made an XRP deposit to his account for trading, only to see his stash moved to an unidentified address without his initiation or consent.
Bitrue Reportedly Diverting User Funds
Specifically, PapaBear revealed that the affected amount was about 2,045 XRP, worth $4,764 at the time of writing. He confirmed that his account has three levels of protection, including Google Authenticator, Gmail confirmation, and a six-digit PIN code.
After the event, he contacted Bitrue but received feedback that hackers had exploited his account and moved the funds. Despite claims to the contrary, he noted that the Seychelles-registered firm did not provide the necessary support for the missing XRP.
According to him, for any bad actor to gain access to his account for unauthorized withdrawal, they would need to access his Google Authenticator code, which is dynamic, his personal pin code, which he stores nowhere else except his head, and his email. He argued that having access to all three is impossible, suggesting that the withdrawal involved an insider.
In a parallel tweet, PapaBear confirmed that he is not alone in this menace. Several other Bitrue users also reported a similar situation, where their crypto assets went missing on the platform, suggesting that this was a recurring issue.
PapaBear on X
Meanwhile, his X posts have caught the attention of Eri Chan, a prominent XRP community leader. She reposted PapaBear’s tweet, asking those faced with a similar problem to reach out for further actions.
Bitrue’s History of Complaints
Bitrue started in 2018 as an XRP-focused cryptocurrency exchange. Soon, it expanded beyond XRP and currently offers over 700 cryptocurrencies and 1,100 trading pairs to its users.
Nonetheless, it has had a history of unresolved customer complaints, hacks, and accusations of market manipulation. Additionally, its lack of regulation by a top-tier financial authority further fuels skepticism surrounding the exchange.
A year after its market debut, Bitrue was reportedly hacked for $4.2 million in XRP and ADA, as exploiters leveraged a firewall weakness to gain control of its hot wallet. Notably, it announced it would make affected customers 100% whole.
It faced another exploit in 2023, with the hacker making off with $23 million this time. The affected hot wallet had stashes of Ethereum, Shiba Inu, and Polygon, among others, totaling the mentioned amount.
Meanwhile, Bitrue has been at the center of several accusations of market manipulation. Several users have complained that the exchange manipulates asset prices on its platform to liquidate trading positions, highlighting that spikes in prices relative to its exchange have resulted in losses for traders.
While these events remain unconfirmed, it is crucial to conduct thorough due diligence when selecting an exchange to trade assets on. At the time of writing, Bitrue has yet to respond to the recent allegations.
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