Client Complains Failed To Withdraw Crypto On Coinsuper, Fraud Indications Appear

Coinsuper is suspected of fraud. (photo: doc. unsplash)

JAKARTA - Coinsuper, a cryptocurrency exchange agency in Hong Kong, has reportedly stopped all withdrawal requests. Coinsuper is the only crypto company in China licensed by the government, and was founded by a former senior executive of UBS Group AG in November 2017.

A Bloomberg report shows that exchange customers have been unable to withdraw funds since late last November, based on a review of messages in the exchange's main Telegram chat group.

Five clients reportedly filed a complaint with the police after the withdrawal of the tokens was stopped, which left them unable to reclaim some $55,000 of cryptocurrency and money.

A public outcry against Coinsuper, backed by Pantera Capital and run by Karen Chen, who previously worked as president of UBS China Inc., could force Hong Kong authorities to adopt stricter policies.

As reported by Cointelegraph in September 2021, a senior executive for the city-state Securities and Futures Commission said that greater action was needed to combat cryptocurrency fraud, and suggested future guidance on digital asset trading in special administrative areas.

Last month, the administrator of the Coinsuper Telegram discussion group allegedly stopped responding to questions about failed withdrawals, then resurfaced last week. They ask customers to provide their email address. Several clients said at the time that there was no follow-up even after they had provided their details.

Crypto exchanges processed around $17.4 million in volume in the last 24 hours – down from a daily peak of $1.3 billion in late 2019, according to data firm Nomics.

While speaking to Bloomberg, one of the venture capitalists who have backed Coinsuper said that they have completely canceled their $1 million investment in the exchange.

The VC said that they had lost communication with the exchange management team six to eight months ago, and chairman and CEO Karen Chen stopped replying to WeChat. According to reports, several workers had left the company between July and December.