On weekends crypto.com sparked another wave of investor panic after some Twitter users noticed and reported it bizarre transaction performed by the stock exchange. These are not particularly sunny times for the cryptocurrency sector: FTX, the fourth largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, recently filed for bankruptcy. Analysts and investors themselves now fear that the other big names in the sector could also collapse without warning.
Crypto.com – the cryptocurrency giant that has renamed the Staples Center in Los Angeles – had aired 320,000 ETH (about 400 million euros) to an address of a rival company. The transaction dates back to October 21 last year, but was only reported a few days ago.
within hours, word of the transaction had spread, fueling fears that Crypto.com was also in trouble and that its administrators were secretly draining the company’s accounts to keep them away from potential creditors. Fortunately this was not the case.
Kirs Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, admitted that it was an administrative error: the money had to be transferred to a cold wallet (i.e. a wallet that is not connected to the internet) owned by his company. Conversely, the 320,000 ETH landed on a right of port.io, a rival exchange. The funds in question amounted to 80% of Crypto.com’s Ether reserves.
Marszalek’s reassurances were not enough. The fear that even Crypto.com could go the way of FTX had now spread like wildfire among the groups dedicated to cryptocurrency enthusiasts on Twitter and Discord. Many specialized pages have advised their followers to withdraw their funds deposited on Crypto.com.
Meanwhile, Gate.io returned the 320,000 ETH to the rival company. It is not the first time that Crypto.com has made such a mistake: in August, the company had sent a customer more than $ 7 million, instead of the $ 68 it would have been entitled to. The customer has not been as honest as Gate.io: he has never returned the money and is currently in court to determine whether or not he is obliged to return it.
Source: Lega Nerd
