How Dangerous Is Crypto?
Image Source: Pexels
A Turkish crypto exchange boss has gone missing and, according to reports, he took $2 billion of investors’ funds with him (details below). It will be hard to prove he stole the crypto, and it is unlikely to be found or returned.
How dangerous is crypto? That's the wrong question. The right question: how dangerous is it to store your decentralized tokens in the digital wallet of an unregulated centralized exchange? If those tokens were in people's personal wallets, they'd still have them. If they didn't need to exchange the crypto for fiat currency, they would still have them. If the exchange was decentralized, there would not have been a way to illegally take them.
Decentralization is the most compelling feature of crypto, NFTs, and all blockchain technologies. Should you trust an unregulated central authority with your funds? IDK. It sounds dangerous.
You can read more about this story on CNBC:
Turkish crypto exchange boss goes missing, reportedly taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him
Published Fri, Apr 23 20219:58 AM EDT, Updated Mon, Apr 26 20216:00 AM EDT
By Ryan BrowneKey Points
- Thodex, a crypto firm based in Turkey, said its platform has been “temporarily closed” to address an “abnormal fluctuation in the company accounts.”
- Local media reports say that Faruk Fatih Ozer, Thodex’s founder, has flown to Albania, taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him.
- According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Turkish authorities have now issued an international warrant seeking Ozer’s arrest.
LONDON — A Turkish cryptocurrency exchange is offline and its CEO has reportedly gone missing, leaving thousands of investors worried that their funds have been stolen.
Thodex, a crypto firm based in Turkey, said its platform has been “temporarily closed” to address an “abnormal fluctuation in the company accounts,” according to a translated statement on its website.
Local media reports say that Faruk Fatih Ozer, Thodex’s founder, has flown to Albania, taking $2 billion of investors’ funds with him. Demiroren News Agency published a photo of what it said was Ozer leaving Istanbul Airport.
A lawyer who filed a criminal complaint against Ozer said Thodex had 400,000 users, of which 390,000 were active. However, Ozer has disputed the allegations, saying only 30,000 users have been affected by the situation and that reports about $2 billion of losses are “unfounded.”
According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish authorities have now issued an international warrant seeking Ozer’s arrest. Police have detained 62 people in eight cities including Istanbul, the state-run news agency said.
Continue reading on CNBC.
This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.