BitMarket.pl
| Industry | Bitcoin exchange |
| Founded | March 2014 (operator announcement) |
| Defunct | 8 July 2019 |
| Headquarters | Poland (retail focus); operator company described as London-based in the prosecutor release |
BitMarket.pl was a Polish-facing bitcoin exchange. Michau Enterprises Limited announced the launch on 3 March 2014, tying the project to the AfterMarket.pl domain business. The 2014 pitch emphasised instant PLN fiat deposits and withdrawals through Polish instant-transfer systems (BlueCash, Express Elixir, PayU, DotPay and similar), an API with HMAC authentication, and two-factor authentication on withdrawals.[1]
Closure
On 9 July 2019 CoinDesk reported that Bitmarket had shut down and quoted a site notice:
"We regret to inform you that due to the loss of liquidity, [from] 08/07/2019, Bitmarket.pl/net was forced to cease its operations. We will inform you about further steps."[2]
Enforcement history
On 12 September 2019 the Polish National Prosecutor's Office (Prokuratura Krajowa) published that the District Prosecutor's Office in Suwałki was supervising an investigation into alleged fraud against clients of the BitMarket.pl exchange. The release states that from mid-2015 to 7 July 2019 managers of a London-based company operating the exchange allegedly caused client harm of at least 2,300 BTC (about PLN 100 million in the release's own conversion).[3]
The same release says co-owner Marcin A. was charged with fraud against 525 users for PLN 22,661,288 (art. 286 §1 kk and related provisions).[3]
Products
The 2014 marketing emphasised that Polish instant banking rails let users deposit PLN, trade, and withdraw in minutes, reducing how long fiat had to sit on the exchange. Dariusz Litawiński was quoted on the earlier page as head of marketing for Michau Enterprises Ltd.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Earlier wiki article launch copy (Michau / AfterMarket pitch).
- ↑ CoinDesk, 9 July 2019: Polish Crypto Exchange Bitmarket Suddenly Shuts Down
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Prokuratura Krajowa, 12 September 2019: Zarzuty w sprawie oszustw dokonanych na giełdzie kryptowalut