Japanese messaging company Line has announced that it will halt its exchange services at the start of the new year. According to a statement by the company, it will harness its resources into developing its other blockchain-related projects. The statement also pointed out that new sign-ups have been disabled on the platform as other activities will be fizzled out before the start of the new year.
The company faults challenges in the crypto market
Line, the company backing both the LN token and the blockchain mentioned that the decision was taken with the progress of other ventures in mind. The statement said that despite the concentrated efforts to evade the many challenges that the company has encountered, the company has to shut down its Bitfront exchange. However, the company noted that users of the LN token and its blockchain need not be afraid of the issues that affected the exchange.
The company also clarified that the decision to shut down the exchange has no connection to the recent mishap that FTX encountered over the last few weeks. The issue has seen so many connected exchanges and companies fold up with users expressing their concerns over their confidence in centralized exchanges. The timeline released by the company will see services suspended over the next few months with a withdrawal deadline planned for March next year.
Line assures users of easy withdrawals
The company mentioned that should any user fail to withdraw by the deadline, they would be provided with avenues to claim their assets. Line is popular for its messaging application which takes on the same name as the company. Asides from its messaging capabilities, the app also provides users with news, sports, and other information. The app infused payment capabilities into the platform when it floated the Bitmax exchange in 2019.
Bitfront was floated the next year with the company floating its LN token that same year. The company entered into a partnership with the Japanese arm of Yahoo which at the time was making its foray into the crypto sector. The same year, the company opened up a new company that would oversee the NFT base of the company located in South Korea and the United States.
