Ukrainian Crypto Exchange Liqui Shuts Down, Cites Lack of Liquidity

Ukraine-based crypto exchange Liqui is shutting down its services, citing a lack of liquidity, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, Jan. 28.

Liqui said it decided to close all accounts and stop providing services because it currently does “not see any economic point in providing” them in a statement posted on its official website, Jan. 28.

The crypto exchange claimed that it has informed its clients about the issue, and stated that withdrawal of digital assets will be available within 30 days after the message was posted. Liqui further noted that the firm cannot guarantee they will maintain their website after 30 days.

According to crypto data ranking website CoinGecko, Liqui exchange allowed clients to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT) pairs, also providing lending and margin trading. On Dec. 30, Liqui’s average daily trading volume amounted to about $3.9 million before sharply plunging to just below $180,000 on Jan. 12.

Liqui 30-day Trade Volume. Source: CoinGecko

Following the news the exchange had shut down operations, crypto analyst and host of CNBC's show Cryptotrader, Ran NeuNer, claimed in a tweet that he is expecting more exchanges to close in light of the continuous bear market. He noted that exchange infrastructure is expensive to maintain, suggesting that most exchanges will not survive it.

The collapse of crypto markets in 2018 from all-time highs in December 2017 has caused major financial problems at a large number of crypto and blockchain firms.  At least 340 crypto and blockchain companies were dissolved or liquidated in 2018 in the United Kingdom, while China-based crypto mining giant Bitmain closed its Israeli center in late 2019.

Earlier this month, the CEO of Switzerland-based cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift announced the company had laid off a third of its team, citing “the latest bear market cycle.”

Yesterday, Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX announced it had shut down for maintenance. However, Reddit and Twitter users had been reporting that they were unable to access or withdraw their funds from the exchange for months before, leading some to speculate that the real reason for the shutdown was in fact insolvency.