<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
exchange	O
owned	O
and	O
operated	O
by	O
iFinex	B-Protocol
Inc	O
registered	O
in	O
the	O
British	O
Virgin	O
Islands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
suggests	O
that	O
price	O
manipulation	O
of	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
on	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
accounted	O
for	O
about	O
half	O
of	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
price	O
increase	O
in	O
late	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
was	O
founded	O
in	O
December	O
2012	O
as	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
exchange	O
offering	O
digital	O
asset	O
trading	O
services	O
to	O
users	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
initially	O
started	O
as	O
a	O
P2P	O
margin	O
lending	O
platform	O
for	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
and	O
later	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
more	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
partnered	O
with	O
Palo	O
Alto	O
company	O
BitGo	O
to	O
offer	O
highly-secured	O
"	O
wallets	B-Protocol
"	O
that	O
allow	O
people	O
to	O
store	O
their	O
digital	O
currencies	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitGo	O
has	O
insurance	O
against	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
theft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2015	O
,	O
the	O
exchange	O
was	O
hacked	O
,	O
which	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
loss	O
of	O
1,500	O
Bitcoins	B-Protocol
or	O
about	O
$	O
400,000	O
USD	O
of	O
their	O
customers	O
 '	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2018	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
again	O
had	O
serious	O
difficulties	O
with	O
its	O
banking	O
relationships	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
management	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
is	O
not	O
insolvent	O
on	O
October	O
7.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Commodity	O
Futures	O
Trading	O
Commission	O
ordered	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
to	O
pay	O
a	O
$	O
75,000	O
fine	O
for	O
offering	O
illegal	O
off-exchanged	O
financed	O
commodity	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
order	O
also	O
found	O
that	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
violated	O
the	O
Commodity	O
Exchange	O
Act	O
by	O
not	O
registering	O
as	O
a	O
Futures	O
Commission	O
Merchant	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
announced	O
it	O
was	O
experiencing	O
delays	O
in	O
processing	O
USD	O
withdrawals	O
after	O
Wells	O
Fargo	O
cut	O
off	O
its	O
wire	O
transfers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
the	O
Wells	O
Fargo	O
cutoff	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
stated	O
all	O
international	O
wires	O
had	O
been	O
cut	O
off	O
by	O
its	O
Taiwanese	O
bank	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
has	O
moved	O
between	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
banks	O
in	O
other	O
countries	O
without	O
disclosing	O
to	O
customers	O
where	O
the	O
money	O
is	O
kept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Noble	O
Bank	O
International	O
of	O
San	O
Juan	O
,	O
Puerto	B-Protocol
Rico	I-Protocol
reportedly	O
handled	O
some	O
dollar	O
banking	O
for	O
the	O
exchange	O
in	O
2017	O
or	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2018	O
,	O
British	O
Virgin	O
Islands-based	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
confirmed	O
the	O
exchange	O
’s	O
plans	O
to	O
relocate	O
its	O
primary	O
server	O
infrastructure	O
to	O
Zug	O
,	O
Switzerland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2018	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
emailed	O
some	O
of	O
its	O
users	O
asking	O
for	O
some	O
tax	O
details	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
indicated	O
it	O
would	O
share	O
with	O
the	O
government	O
of	O
the	O
British	O
Virgin	O
Islands	O
,	O
which	O
might	O
,	O
in	O
turn	O
,	O
pass	O
it	O
on	O
to	O
the	O
governments	O
of	O
the	O
users	O
 '	O
countries	O
of	O
residence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Phil	O
Potter	O
,	O
Chief	O
Strategy	O
Officer	O
of	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
,	O
left	O
the	O
exchange	O
on	O
June	O
22	O
,	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
New	O
York	O
Attorney	O
General	O
Letitia	O
James	O
launched	O
an	O
investigation	O
accusing	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
of	O
using	O
the	O
reserves	O
of	O
Tether	B-Application
,	O
an	O
affiliated	O
company	O
,	O
to	O
cover	O
up	O
a	O
loss	O
of	O
$850	O
million	O
to	O
a	O
Panamanian	O
payment	O
processor	O
known	O
as	O
Crypto	O
Capital	O
Corp	O
.	O
Reggie	O
Fowler	O
,	O
who	O
is	O
alleged	O
to	O
have	O
connections	O
with	O
Crypto	O
Capital	O
,	O
was	O
indicted	O
on	O
April	O
30	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
for	O
running	O
an	O
unlicensed	O
money-transmitting	O
business	O
for	O
cryptocurrency	O
traders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
had	O
been	O
unable	O
to	O
obtain	O
a	O
normal	O
banking	O
relationship	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
lawsuit	O
,	O
so	O
it	O
deposited	O
over	O
$1	O
billion	O
with	O
a	O
Panamanian	O
payment	O
processor	O
known	O
as	O
Crypto	O
Capital	O
Corp	O
.	O
No	O
contract	O
was	O
ever	O
signed	O
with	O
Crypto	O
Capital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
James	O
alleged	O
that	O
in	O
2018	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
knew	O
or	O
suspected	O
that	O
Crypto	O
Capital	O
had	O
absconded	O
with	O
the	O
money	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
their	O
investors	O
were	O
never	O
informed	O
of	O
the	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
's	O
reported	O
figures	O
for	O
2017	O
were	O
$333.5	O
million	O
in	O
gross	O
profits	O
,	O
$6.8	O
million	O
in	O
expenses	O
,	O
$326	O
million	O
in	O
net	O
profit	O
,	O
and	O
$246	O
million	O
in	O
dividends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
October	O
15	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
would	O
pay	O
a	O
$1.5	O
million	O
fine	O
to	O
the	O
Commodity	O
Futures	O
Trading	O
Commission	O
for	O
illegal	O
,	O
off-exchange	O
retail	O
commodity	O
transactions	O
in	O
digital	O
assets	O
with	O
Americans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
launched	O
a	O
new	O
payment	O
technology	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
online	O
merchants	O
to	O
receive	O
contactless	O
and	O
borderless	O
cryptocurrency	O
payments	O
in	O
2021	O
,	O
called	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
Pay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
,	O
Kraken	O
,	O
and	O
KuCoin	O
began	O
exploring	O
ways	O
to	O
enter	O
the	O
Indian	O
cryptocurrency	O
market	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2022	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
,	O
alongside	O
several	O
other	O
leading	O
exchanges	O
,	O
temporarily	O
paused	O
all	O
deposits	O
and	O
withdrawals	O
of	O
Ethereum-based	O
tokens	O
during	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
software	O
upgrade	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Merge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
January	O
2023	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
plans	O
to	O
open	O
an	O
office	O
in	O
El	O
Salvador	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
El	O
Salvador	O
plans	O
to	O
issue	O
its	O
"	O
volcano	O
"	O
token	O
this	O
year	O
,	O
which	O
will	O
be	O
issued	O
using	O
blockchain	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
will	O
trade	O
on	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
’s	O
exchange	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2016	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
announced	O
it	O
had	O
suffered	O
a	O
major	O
security	O
breach	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Immediately	O
thereafter	O
,	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
trading	O
price	O
plunged	O
by	O
20%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
learning	O
of	O
the	O
breach	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
halted	O
all	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
withdrawals	O
and	O
trading	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
that	O
hack	O
,	O
the	O
second-biggest	O
breach	O
of	O
a	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
exchange	O
platform	O
,	O
119,756	O
units	O
of	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
worth	O
about	O
$72	O
million	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
were	O
stolen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
was	O
taken	O
from	O
users	O
 '	O
segregated	O
wallets	B-Protocol
and	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
said	O
it	O
was	O
tracking	O
down	O
the	O
hack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hack	O
happened	O
even	O
though	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
was	O
securing	O
the	O
funds	O
with	O
BitGo	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
multiple-signature	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
States	O
Department	O
of	O
Justice	O
recovered	O
the	O
stolen	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
a	O
New	O
York	O
couple	O
,	O
Ilya	O
Lichtenstein	O
and	O
his	O
wife	O
,	O
Heather	O
Morgan	O
,	O
was	O
federally	O
charged	O
in	O
February	O
2022	O
with	O
conspiring	O
to	O
launder	O
the	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
then	O
worth	O
$3.6	O
billion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tether	B-Application
is	O
a	O
cryptocurrency	O
(	O
a	O
so-called	O
stablecoin	B-Protocol
)	O
which	O
Tether	B-Application
Limited	I-Application
had	O
claimed	O
to	O
be	O
pegged	O
to	O
the	O
US	O
dollar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tether	B-Application
is	O
closely	O
associated	O
with	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
whom	O
,	O
as	O
of	O
2018	O
,	O
they	O
shared	O
common	O
shareholders	O
and	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
critics	O
raised	O
questions	O
about	O
the	O
relationship	O
between	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
and	O
Tether	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2021	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
agreed	O
to	O
pay	O
$18.5	O
million	O
in	O
a	O
settlement	O
with	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
Attorney	O
General	O
's	O
office	O
regarding	O
allegations	O
over	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
parent	O
iFinex	B-Protocol
making	O
false	O
statements	O
about	O
the	O
backing	O
of	O
Tether	B-Application
and	O
the	O
movement	O
of	O
hundreds	O
of	O
millions	O
of	O
dollars	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
companies	O
to	O
cover	O
up	O
massive	O
losses	O
by	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
in	O
2017	O
and	O
2018	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
agreement	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
will	O
maintain	O
its	O
prohibition	O
on	O
trading	O
activity	O
with	O
New	O
Yorkers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
Bitfinex	B-Protocol
repaid	O
their	O
remaining	O
loan	O
balance	O
to	O
Tether	B-Application
in	O
full	O
.	O
</s>
