We are only entering the fourth quarter of the year, and so far more than 75 crypto exchanges worldwide have closed
The pace at which crypto exchanges are exiting the market is significantly higher this year. More than 75 exchanges around the world have reportedly shut down. Some closed after hacks and scams drained their reserves, while others simply vanished from the web for unexplained reasons.
A report from the Crypto Wisser Exchange Graveyard shows that four exchanges—including the Italian platform Altsbit—closed after suffering massive losses due to hacks. Five others were identified as scams and forced to shut down, while 31 exchanges ceased operations voluntarily.
Several remaining platforms have been categorized as “MIA” because they closed and disappeared without providing formal explanations. Government action also forced some closures this year, such as NLexch in the Netherlands and Chilebit in Chile. Industry experts link the decline of smaller exchanges to the rising popularity of decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and the growth of the DeFi sector.
Stricter regulatory requirements are also cited as a reason many exchanges could not keep up and were forced to close. Futures operations at BitMEX and KuCoin appear to be under particular scrutiny. BitMEX faces legal challenges after U.S. prosecutors brought charges against some of its executives.
Questions about exchange viability were heightened after CoinMetrics reported that more than $500 million worth of bitcoins were withdrawn over four days between September 30 and October 3. KuCoin, meanwhile, suffered losses exceeding $200 million from hacks, although the company reportedly managed to recover and resume operations.