Arrest Made Following Hong Kong's JPEX Crypto Exchange Investigation

In a recent report by SCMP, it's revealed that Hong Kong authorities have been flooded with a total of 83 complaints concerning an unlicensed platform known as JPEX. This surge in grievances has prompted the suspension of all trading activities on the platform.

JPEX, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Hong Kong, has faced heightened scrutiny from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). This scrutiny has resulted in the arrest of an individual associated with the platform. The SFC argues that JPEX operated within the region without obtaining the necessary licensing, leading to a surge in discontent among its user base.

In response, JPEX issued a blog post stating, "Recently, due to the unjust treatment by relevant institutions in Hong Kong towards JPEX, a cryptocurrency trading platform, and a series of adverse news, our partnered third-party market makers have maliciously frozen funds." This situation has created an urgent need for additional information from the platform, exacerbating liquidity challenges and significantly increasing daily operational costs, thus presenting substantial operational obstacles.

Confronted with these liquidity constraints, JPEX has decided to remove all transactions from its Earn Trading interface, starting from the upcoming Monday. Simultaneously, the exchange is making adjustments to ongoing orders and withdrawal fees. Additionally, there is consideration of a potential restructuring, with the adoption of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) framework being among the options.

Reports from local media sources in Taiwan suggest that the Taipei office of JPEX was recently vacated. Authorities are reportedly questioning Taiwanese influencers who had associations with the exchange.

On its official website, JPEX asserts that it is licensed by securities authorities in Australia and holds registration with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a Money Services Business (MSB).

Attendees at the recent Token2049 conference in Singapore reportedly discovered JPEX's booth to be deserted after the first day.

As a result of these unfolding events, JPEX's native exchange token, JPC, has experienced a significant 21% decrease in value over the past 24-hour period.