SurBitcoin resumes operations after closing exchange temporarily

On July 7, hours after our article was published that SurBitcoin was trading at 22% below market volume, the Venezuelan exchange announced on Facebook that it has completely halted fiat operations, claiming to have problems with Banesco bank.

In a new update from the Latin American exchange, they now say they have resolved the banking issues and have successfully resumed all operations. In a statement made from SurBitcoin, they said,

“Hemos encontrado gracias a la gran ayuda del Departamento de Seguridad Banesco al estafador que causó todos estos problemas por los cuales pedimos nuestras más sinceras disculpas y queremos dejar muy claro que Surbitcoin ejercerá acciones legales en contra de esta persona que quiso chantajearnos para salirse con la suya algo que no logro.”

This roughly translated means that the exchange was working with Banesco bank on fraudulent activity by a specific individual who appears to have been causing the problems between the bank and the exchange. They identified who the person is and was able to rectify the issue.

Apparently in addition to the fraudulent activity, the person in question was trying to extort the exchange. Since the bank and the exchange were able to identify the person, SurBitcoin is going to be taking legal action against them. The details of the case are vague as the exchange hasn’t provided much information. The good news is that the exchange has reopened for business.

The exchange has been experiencing problems for several months now. It’s also not clear if the issues starting from March all stem from this fraudulent user, but according to the exchange the issues shouldn’t be a problem anymore and Venezuelans can go back to trading bitcoin.