AAX
Rug PullExchange · ✝ 2022
A 'system upgrade' that turned into a vanishing act.
AAX (Atom Asset Exchange) was a Hong Kong crypto exchange that halted withdrawals days after FTX collapsed in November 2022, blaming a 'system upgrade'. Withdrawals never resumed, executives fled, and some were later arrested in what amounted to an exit scam.
- Peak
- ~$30M+ user funds
- Cause
- Rug Pull
- Year of death
- 2022
☠️ Cause of death
The exchange froze withdrawals under a maintenance pretext while executives fled with custodied user funds.
📓 Lessons left behind
- —A 'system upgrade' freeze can be cover for insolvency.
- —Custodial exchanges can exit-scam the moment confidence cracks.
- —Contagion fear gives failing exchanges an excuse to halt.
🌱 The idea that survived
Proof of reserves
Reinforced demand for exchanges to cryptographically prove they hold customer assets.
#exchange#exit-scam#withdrawals