As a seasoned analyst with years of experience navigating the tumultuous world of cryptocurrency exchanges, I find myself deeply troubled by the ongoing saga of BitBNS and its apparent disregard for investor trust and transparency. The series of events unfolding at this exchange is reminiscent of a rollercoaster ride, with steep drops, sudden twists, and a persistent feeling of uncertainty.
For more than two years, thousands of investors in India have been facing trouble withdrawing their own money from BitBNS, a major cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past 12 months, the exchange has locked funds of investors and halted all withdrawals, but are happily accepting deposits.
Even though many investors have voiced their concerns about the exchange’s activities, its complex operations have mostly evaded scrutiny from Indian regulatory bodies, largely because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been generally skeptical towards cryptocurrencies. This situation has left some investors questioning whether WazirX is following in the footsteps of BitBNS, an exchange that experienced a similar predicament with the suspension of customer funds recently.
After contacting numerous affected investors of BitBNS who have been trying to withdraw their funds, The Crypto Times uncovered instances of misrepresentation, inadequate disclosure, and questionable business conduct.
The Story of BitBNS
BitBNS, launched in 2017, was initiated by Gaurav Dahake, Prashant Singh, and Srikanth Sethumadhavan under the corporate entity ‘Buyhatke Internet Private Limited’. Notable for being one of the first to offer p2p payment services in India, BitBNS has served more than four million Indian users throughout its seven-year operational history.
At the moment, their trading volume stands at approximately $1.25 million, with a total of 122 listed coins, according to information from CoinGecko.
Customers Facing Withdrawal Issues Since 2020
Users of BitBNS have reported troubles with withdrawing funds from the platform. At first, the exchange administrators attributed these issues to a “minor technical problem,” but an investigation into BitBNS’s operations reveals a stark lack of transparency.
Since 2020, over 2,000 BitBNS investors have struggled to withdraw their own money, and BitBNS has yet to provide any clear answers. Exasperated customers are now using various social media outlets to voice their distress and annoyance.
June 27, 2023: Day of Horror for BitBNS Investors
On June 27, 2023, multiple WazirX investors awoke to discover that their total investments were suddenly worth nothing. Shortly afterward, BitBNS co-founder Gaurav Dahake attributed this to a minor technical issue and halted all withdrawals. The process of refunding investors’ funds has been distressing for them as they allege poor customer service from BitBNS and a lack of transparency regarding the amount of their funds that have been recovered. To date, BitBNS has not provided any information about how many investors have had their portfolios restored or are still in the process.
“Ritesh Sharma, a BitBNS investor, shared his frustrating experience with us at The Crypto Times. He deposited 5 lakh rupees into BitBNS in 2020 but has since struggled immensely trying to withdraw his own money. Despite submitting over 40 support tickets seeking assistance from the exchange, he hasn’t received any resolution yet. At this point, Ritesh feels hopeless that he will ever recover his funds.”
BitBNS kept $7.5 Million hack hidden for a year
On March 1, 2023, the crypto investigator @ZachXBT disclosed that BitBNS experienced a hack on February 1, 2022, leading to a loss of approximately $7.5 million in investor funds. Following the cyber attack, the exchange temporarily halted all activities and referred to this action as “maintenance” they were conducting.
After over a year, ZachXBT exposed the falsehoods regarding ‘X’, prompting the co-founder, Gaurav Dahake, to acknowledge that his cryptocurrency exchange had in fact been breached.
Let’s express our concern about the crypto exchange Bitbns, who concealed a $7.5 million hack from their users on February 1, 2022, and later claimed it was “system maintenance.”
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) February 28, 2023
Seeking Help from BitBNS is torture: Investors
Based on feedback from multiple investors who have dealt with The Crypto Times, it appears that BitBNS’s customer support may not be very effective in addressing customer concerns. Many users report that the process of submitting tickets for their issues and waiting for a response from BitBNS is frustratingly slow, as described by some investors. For instance, consider this interaction between an investor and BitBNS’s official account, which took place from February 27 to August 22 this year:
As a long-time user of cryptocurrency exchanges, I have grown accustomed to the rollercoaster ride that comes with investing in this volatile market. However, my experience with BitBNS has left me feeling somewhat frustrated. Back in March, they announced the rollout of INR withdrawals for a select group of one million users, which I was not part of. Since then, I have been eagerly waiting for an update on when the rest of us might be able to access our funds. Unfortunately, there has been no word from BitBNS regarding this matter, leaving me in limbo and questioning the transparency of their operations. Additionally, the lack of information about how many users have already taken advantage of the initial INR withdrawal process only adds to my uncertainty. As a customer, I believe it’s essential for exchanges like BitBNS to keep their users informed and provide clear communication about any changes or updates to their services.
In our attempt to gather information from BitBNS concerning the investor inquiries, we contacted them for a statement. Predictably, their customer service team responded by requesting that we submit a support ticket instead. This article will be revised as soon as we receive a comprehensive response from the exchange.
Lack of Transparency in BitBNS
One issue that has been raised about BitBNS is its insufficient disclosure of information. Crucial details like financial reserves, token distribution, and other vital statistics are not readily available for users. In the world of cryptocurrencies, transparency is paramount; leading exchanges usually share detailed insights about their reserves, funding sources, and token distribution to foster trust and maintain accountability.
As an analyst, I must express my disappointment with BitBNS’s performance, as it seems to have fallen short of upholding the fundamental tenets of blockchain technology – transparency and security. Transparency is a cornerstone for ensuring user protection and cultivating trust within the community, yet BitBNS has failed to meet these expectations. This failure has only served to deepen the skepticism and frustration among its users.
Conclusion
On previous occasions, Indian cryptocurrency platforms like WazirX have encountered major problems affecting their users, and now Bitbns is experiencing similar troubles that are raising eyebrows. The absence of a formal statement addressing the missing funds from Bitbns has caused some to suspect a covert plan rather than genuine attempts to resolve the issue. As the situation remains largely unacknowledged by the exchange, users are turning to influential figures in the crypto world to shed light on it.
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2024-08-22 15:33