A United Kingdom-based bitcoin exchange, Bit121, announced last week that they would be closing their doors and halt their operations temporarily.
That date has come, and users of the exchange will need to find themselves another platform to make their trades on.
Bit121 announced that as of the 26th of March, users would be able to view their balances and account statements, withdraw any sterling balance greater than £50, along with any bitcoin balance.
As of the 27th of March, Bit121 processed withdrawals for ever account with a positive GBP balance. Anyone with a balance of £1.00 or below has had their funds donated to an anti-hunger charity.
So what caused the sudden closure? The inability to find a reliable banking partner. The company was reportedly working with a company called Pacnet, according to CityAM.
In a statement to bitcoin news website CoinDesk, the company said that “rather than have the website sitting dormant with minimal activity, it made sense to temporarily close Bit121 until a suitable banking partner has been secured.”
“Despite regretfully closing our doors for now, we like to think we have simply gone into hibernation, and we fully intend to re-open at some point in the near future,” the company wrote on their site.
“We have learned a great deal and gained a lot of experience in our 4-5 months of running a bitcoin exchange. It has been a challenging few months without a doubt but also a lot of fun.”
