Brazilian Crypto Exchange Snubs Court Deadline to Fix Withdrawals

Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange and alleged pyramid scheme Atlas Quantum has rejected court deadlines to resolve its delayed Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals.

Atlas Quantum may constitute a financial pyramid

As Cointelegraph Brasil reported on Sept. 17, the Federal Court of Brazil ruled that the exchange's current activities may constitute a financial pyramid. It therefore decided to immediately freeze the company’s assets and bank accounts and give the company 48 hours to resolve outstanding accounts. 

In a Sept. 18 response to the court's ruling and deadline, Atlas Quantum said there is no requirement to resolve the problem of late withdrawals by any given date.

The crypto exchange added that it does not agree with the federal court’s ruling that it is a financial pyramid scheme. “We are fully focused on resolving the issues at hand,” the exchange said.

The company's CEO, Rodrigo Marques, who launched the exchange in Brazil in 2015, reportedly recorded a video in an attempt to contain the withdrawal crisis that the company is currently facing.

Brazilian courts pursue alleged pyramid schemes

Cointelegraph previously reported that a court in Rio de Janeiro had ordered alleged investment scheme Unick Forex to pay $28,500 to a client who filed a lawsuit against the company for a delay in platform withdrawals and moral damages. As reported, the presiding judge granted a default judgment, which means Unick Forex did not show up in court to defend its case.

The State Court of Justice in Sao Paulo is also going after crypto companies and has made a block request to several Bitcoin trading companies — Atlas Quantum included. The courts are in search of virtual assets that belong to Miner, which is considered to be another financial pyramid scheme.