Coincheck’s Withdrawals Frozen as Wallet Loses Over $723 Million

Coincheck’s users were in store for an unexpected surprise Friday as the Japanese crypto exchange has now suspended all withdrawals, effective immediately. The abrupt decision was taken after a Ripple payment worth $123 million (101,265,057 XRP) departed its wallet in tandem with other unconfirmed and sizable withdrawals.

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The trade freeze looks to be tied to NEM, which consequently saw the following message sent out to users on the exchange: “Depositing NEM on Coincheck is currently being restricted. Deposits made to your account will not be reflected in your balance, and we advise all users to refrain from making deposits until the restriction has been lifted.”

Adding to the chain of events were unsubstantiated reports of upwards of $600 million of NEM leaving the exchange, per a report on CoinTelegraph. This move has come in tandem with the $123 million shift on Coincheck, ultimately prompting the freeze.

コインチェックのXEMアカウントから謎のアカウント https://t.co/xYCELvGwGp に5.2億XEM 約580億円が送金されていますね…（緑がコインチェックのアカウント）
コインチェック内での移動なら良いのですが…途中でバラバラのアカウントにさらに送金しているんですよね… pic.twitter.com/7MVmQpOoZH

— がぶ (@gabu) January 26, 2018

As such, Coincheck’s deposit restrictions have spread to cover all NEM sales and purchases, which also includes withdrawals. At the time of writing the crypto exchange has stopped all currency withdrawals, both crypto and fiat.

With over $720 million suddenly in flux, it remains anyone’s guess when the suspensions will be lifted. Finance Magnates will update the story as it develops.