Cryptocurrency – Bitsane users call for EU compensation fund
A lawyer representing users of vanished cryptocurrency exchange Bitsane, which has links to Ireland, has called for the establishment of an EU compensation fund for users.
n a European Parliament petition, London-based lawyer Jonathan Levy proposed “the introduction of a regulatory scheme to compensate victims” of cryptocurrency hacks and frauds.
Levy is representing users of Bitsane, a cryptocurrency exchange that went dark in June 2019, leaving users unable to access their funds.
Bitsane is registered as a business in Ireland as Bitsane LP, but its operators are understood to be based in Eastern Europe. After going offline with no explanation, some users lost access to thousands of dollars’ worth of bitcoin. That value is likely to be higher now after bitcoin soared in value to highs of $40,000.
Levy said no progress has been made on recovering funds or determining what happened to the exchange.
“Victims of the collapsed Irish cryptocurrency exchange Bitsane are still awaiting justice as the Irish national authorities have accomplished little or nothing to trace the disappearance of a massive trove of cryptocurrency from Bitsane’s 246,000 registered users,” he said.
An Garda Síochána said it has no active investigations into Bitsane at this time.
