Cryptocurrency exchange Hotbit has reportedly executed a significant rug pull, causing severe damage to the Defi project RichQuack, along with Baby Doge Coin BABYDOGE/USD and Dogelon Mars ELON/USD tokens.
RichQuack, in a statement on Tuesday, stated Hotbit sold around 256 trillion QUACK tokens that belonged to QUACK holders on PancakeSwap.
Additionally, RichQuack’s balance of roughly $100,000 in USDT and QUACK on the exchange was lost.
The exchange did not respond to withdrawal requests, leaving the Defi project and its community in a state of uncertainty, according to the statement.
RichQuack further claimed this incident also affected other projects, including BabyDogeCoin and DogelonMars.
Despite this setback, RichQuack stated it was determined to remain resilient, with the community standing united in the face of adversity.
Benzinga has reached out to Hotbit for a comment.
Quack is currently trading down about 14% at $0.000000000574 over the past 24 hours.
Recently, Hotbit announced a halt to its operations, attributing the decision to a range of problems that have made the continued operation of centralized exchanges increasingly untenable.
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In a statement, Hotbit revealed it would cease operations early on May 22 and urged users to withdraw any remaining assets by June 21 at 4 a.m. UTC.
The platform, which claims to have served 5 million users, cited worsening operating conditions as the primary reason for the shutdown.
These conditions were further aggravated by a forced suspension for several weeks in August of the previous year when a former employee was placed under investigation.
Hotbit also expressed concerns about the future of centralized exchanges in the evolving landscape of the crypto industry.
With the failures of FTX FTT/USD and other major crypto institutions, the industry is now faced with a choice between regulation or increased decentralization, according to the company.
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