Japan’s second largest bitcoin exchange, Coincheck, has raised investor fears of a hack or other serious issue by halting yen withdrawals without explanation.

In a series of notices on its website, the exchange halted trading in the cryptocurrency NEM, then freezing all withdrawals from its platform, before finally suspending trading in all digital tokens except for bitcoin itself.

The price of bitcoin fell around 5 per cent to $10,498 as news spread of Coincheck’s suspension, highlighting the sensitivity of cryptocurrency buyers to the health of the exchanges they use for transactions.

Investors on Coincheck’s chat system exchanged panicked messages about the safety of their funds but the company made no statement on the reason for halting withdrawals.

According to data service Coinhills, Coincheck had more than 11 per cent of global bitcoin trading over the last 24 hours, second only to its Japanese rival Bitflyer. Retail traders in Japan have fuelled the surge in cryptocurrency prices in recent months.

IS THIS FUD? OR HACK?

Via: https://www.ft.com/content/c9771c32-0284-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5