Local crypto-currency exchange iCE3X claims it has a shortage of Bitcoin and Litecoin, with the company saying it will take the platform offline.
Founded in 2013, iCE3X deals with digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and Dash, among others.
“It has come to our attention that there are discrepancies in the balances pertaining to Bitcoin and Litecoin we hold on the platform,” says Gareth Grobler, CEO of iCE3X.
“After consultation and deliberation with our partner Merkeleon.com and their subsidiary Coinspaid.com, we have not been able to reach a satisfactory conclusion. On the advice of our legal and auditing team, we have suspended all deposits and trading.”
It is unclear whether the company has suffered a cyber breach.
However, the crypto exchange says it has now collated all the data received to audit Bitcoin and Litecoin transactions (deposits, withdrawals and trades), which it does not agree with.
“Our preliminary findings indicate that we have a shortage for both Bitcoin and Litecoin, and we are reviewing the trading and deposits or withdrawals history as well as cold and hot wallet transaction reports,” says the company.
“This process is taking longer than expected and we are drafting in additional accounting resources to assist with this task. All other withdrawals are still being processed.”
Furthermore, Grobler says, iCE3X has suspended Bitcoin and Litecoin withdrawals with immediate effect, pending the outcome of a full investigation and reconciliation.
“This is being done for the protection of all clients. Currently, clients who hold any other currency (excluding Bitcoin and Litecoin) on the platform will still be able to withdraw their funds.”
The crypto exchange adds: “We have a manual backup solution in place to continue processing withdrawals as it appears likely the platform will be taken offline completely in the next 24 hours, in which case we will communicate the backup process via this page.
“We understand your frustration and we are doing our best to communicate information as fast as possible, and we will endeavour to reply to each service desk ticket as quickly as possible but please understand that we are not able to increase resources to deal with queries but that all tickets will be responded to.”