Bithumb faces questions over altcoin withdrawal delays as regulator begins review

Bithumb faces questions over altcoin withdrawal delays as regulator begins review Altcoin withdrawals on South Korean exchange Bithumb were delayed for more than 13 hours, Digital Times reported, and South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service said it would check the exact facts. Bithumb said the delay stemmed from the time needed to move virtual assets from a cold wallet to a hot wallet. Still, questions are growing over whether the issue can be seen as a simple wallet transfer problem, as delays involving some altcoin withdrawals have been raised repeatedly in the past, according to the report. One user who requested an altcoin withdrawal from Bithumb yesterday completed the withdrawal at around 3:25 p.m. on Aug. 11, roughly 13 hours later. After the withdrawal remained unprocessed for about four hours, the user contacted Bithumb’s customer service center. At the time, the center said in English, "현재 잔고 부족으로 인한 출금 지연 중이며 내부 기준에 따라 충전 후 출금 예정". Bithumb said its actual virtual asset balance had not been insufficient. Industry participants are focusing on the possibility that the withdrawal delay was not just a one-off incident this time, the report said.