First case of exchange involved in money laundering transforming? BITGIN will delist individual accounts and transform to focus on corporate accounts

In the process of investigating the money laundering case related to the "88 Guan" club, the Taiwanese judicial department exposed the "money laundering godfather" Tu Cheng-wen, who used a jewelry store as a front to assist gambling and telecom fraud groups in money laundering activities through a cryptocurrency exchange. In November 2023, Chang Yu-ting, the operating director of the cryptocurrency exchange "After all Company" and its token BITGIN, was also detained. In 2024, After all Company announced that it will no longer provide services to individual accounts and will transition to serving corporate accounts only. The cryptocurrency exchange token BITGIN has set a precedent in Taiwan by transitioning to serving only corporate accounts.

Bitgin Announces Transition: Specializing in Corporate Accounts, No Longer Accepting Individual Deposits

Bitgin has announced that it will be transitioning to a cryptocurrency exchange specializing in services for corporate accounts. The exchange aims to provide more professional and tailored services to corporate clients.

Bitgin to Intensify Review for Specific Individual Accounts

Bitgin has stated in an announcement that accounts under "enhanced review" for specific individuals will temporarily have trading, withdrawal, and login functions disabled. These functions will be reinstated upon completion of the review process to facilitate the withdrawal of remaining assets.

Speculations suggest that this measure may be in response to investigations involving specific high-risk accounts.

Bitgin Limits Withdrawals for General Individual Accounts to Polygon

Bitgin has announced that until January 31, 2024, general individual accounts can withdraw their New Taiwan Dollars and virtual currency assets on the platform through the Bitgin website or app. However, when withdrawing Tether (USDT), only withdrawals on the Polygon network will be supported, and withdrawal requests on other chain types will be automatically rejected by the system.

Bitgin further stated that after 12:00 AM on February 1, 2024, a snapshot of all user balances will be taken, and users will be notified via email regarding the subsequent withdrawal process.

Bitgin to Cease Individual Services

Bitgin has announced that as per legal requirements, the company is obligated to retain customer personal information for five years after account closure before deletion.

Bitgin Previously Stated Cooperation with Investigations

In November 2023, Daniel, CEO of Bitgin, mentioned that Jasmine, the COO, was under investigation by authorities due to transactions with a corporate account at the end of 2021. Bitgin clarified that since March 2022, following notice from KGI Bank about potential money laundering activities, all transactions with the said corporate account were immediately ceased, and transaction records during that period were reported to relevant authorities. Bitgin, unfortunately, became involved in the case and is fully cooperating with the investigation to clarify the facts and prove innocence.

The recent announcement of transitioning to specialize in corporate accounts likely reflects the impact of this incident on the company's operations.

Tracking the "88 Club" Taiwan Money Laundering Network: Bitgin COO Detained due to Anti-Money Laundering Statement

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