BitForex crypto exchange review: What happened and what you need to know before December 25, 2025

BitForex crypto exchange review: What happened and what you need to know before December 25, 2025
Carolyn Lowe 28 October 2025 10 Comments

BitForex Withdrawal Deadline Calculator

Calculate Your Potential Loss

BitForex charges a 5% monthly fee on remaining balances. If you don't withdraw by December 25, 2025, you'll lose money on your own funds.

BitForex used to be one of the top 10 crypto exchanges by trading volume. In early 2023, it handled over $1.38 billion in trades every day. It offered more than 500 cryptocurrencies, low fees, and free copy trading - features that attracted thousands of retail traders. But today, BitForex is gone. Not just slow. Not just struggling. BitForex shut down without warning in February 2024, and now it’s in its final days. If you still have money there, you have until December 25, 2025 to get it out - or risk losing it forever.

What BitForex Offered at Its Peak

When BitForex was active, it wasn’t trying to be Binance or Coinbase. It targeted traders who wanted high leverage and access to obscure altcoins. You could trade with up to 1:100 leverage on BTC and ETH pairs. Spot trading fees were just 0.1% for both makers and takers - lower than most exchanges at the time. Perpetual contract fees were even cheaper: 0.04% for makers, 0.06% for takers on major pairs.

It had a clean, TradingView-powered interface and mobile apps. It also offered social trading, letting users copy trades from others for free. That was rare back then. Most platforms charged for it. BitForex didn’t. It also claimed to store most funds in cold storage and offered 2FA and SMS verification.

By early 2023, it had over 3 million users. It ranked #10 on CoinMarketCap. For a while, it looked like a rising star. But behind the numbers, cracks were forming.

The Slow Collapse

The first red flag came in late 2023. Users started reporting that deposits from Coinbase or other wallets sometimes never showed up. One user wrote: “I sent ETH from my wallet. It’s been 48 hours. No update. Support didn’t reply.” Another said deposits had a “50/50 chance” of appearing within an hour.

Withdrawals got worse. People waited weeks. Some said they had to contact support five times just to get a simple withdrawal approved. Trustpilot reviews called the security system “way too tight” - meaning the checks were so strict they blocked legitimate users.

Then, on February 23, 2024, BitForex vanished. The website went dark. The app stopped working. No announcement. No email. Just silence. Users woke up to a dead platform. That’s when the panic started.

The $56 Million Missing

By March 2024, investigative site Fastbull reported that $56 million in user funds had disappeared. That wasn’t a rumor. It was based on user reports, blockchain analysis, and leaked internal data. Thousands of people lost money. Some had $500. Others had $50,000. All gone.

BitForex didn’t respond. No press release. No apology. No plan. Then, on July 24, 2024, a single page appeared on its website. It said: “We’ve regained system access. Withdrawals are open. Over 50% of users have already withdrawn their assets.”

That’s when things got worse.

A trader faces a laptop showing BitForex's withdrawal deadline and 5% monthly fee notice.

The New Rules: Pay to Get Your Money Out

BitForex didn’t just reopen. It changed the game. Here’s what they announced:

  • Trading is suspended - no buying or selling.
  • No new accounts - you can’t sign up.
  • No deposits - you can’t add more money.
  • Mandatory KYC - every withdrawal requires ID verification.
  • 5% monthly fee on remaining balances - minimum $10 per month.
  • Deadline: December 25, 2025 - after that, all accounts are closed.

That fee? It’s not a refund. It’s a penalty. If you had $1,000 left in your account on August 25, 2024, they took $50. On September 25, another $50. And so on. That’s $600 gone in a year - just for holding your own money.

And the KYC process? It’s broken. As of October 2024, users were still stuck in verification limbo. One person wrote: “I submitted my passport three times. Still pending. I don’t know if they’re ignoring me or lost my documents.”

Why This Happened

BitForex was never regulated. It was based in Hong Kong but registered in Seychelles - a known offshore haven with no crypto oversight. That meant no legal protection for users. No insurance. No audits. No accountability.

It thrived by offering high leverage and low fees - the classic trap for inexperienced traders. People saw big numbers, assumed it was safe, and didn’t ask questions. But when the market turned, and withdrawals piled up, they couldn’t cover the cash outflow. Either they ran out of funds - or they never had them in the first place.

Experts now call it a classic exit scam. A platform built to attract users, then quietly drain them. The fact that they suddenly reopened in July 2024 - with a fee and a deadline - looks less like a rescue and more like a last attempt to pressure people into withdrawing without demanding answers.

A shadowy figure stands on a pile of vanishing coins as desperate users reach up toward a broken clock.

What Users Are Saying Now

Trustpilot ratings for BitForex sit at 1.4 out of 5 stars, based on 164 reviews as of December 2025. The most common complaints:

  • “They stole the money. They never informed us when they’d shut down.”
  • “My order book was fake. Trades showed up, but my buy order stayed open for days.”
  • “Support never replied. I sent 10 emails. Zero responses.”
  • “I finally got KYC approved - but my withdrawal is stuck for 11 days.”

On Reddit, users shared screenshots of missing balances. One person said their account showed $12,000 in April 2024. By October, it was $8,000. The difference? The 5% monthly fee. Not a withdrawal. Not a loss. Just gone.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you still have funds on BitForex, here’s your action plan:

  1. Log in immediately. The site might disappear at any time.
  2. Complete KYC if you haven’t. Upload your ID, proof of address, and selfie. Do it now.
  3. Withdraw everything you can. Even if it’s $20. Don’t wait.
  4. Send funds to a wallet you control - not another exchange.
  5. Document everything. Save screenshots of your balance, KYC status, withdrawal requests.
  6. Stop paying fees. If you’re still being charged after December 25, 2025, you’ve lost. There’s no recourse.

There is no government agency to help you. No insurance fund. No legal team. BitForex is a shell. The clock is ticking.

What This Means for the Crypto Industry

BitForex isn’t the first exchange to collapse. It won’t be the last. But it’s one of the clearest examples of what happens when you trust a platform that doesn’t answer to anyone.

It shows why “not your keys, not your coins” isn’t just a slogan - it’s survival. If you don’t control your private keys, you’re at the mercy of someone else’s balance sheet. And when that balance sheet is fake, you lose everything.

BitForex’s story should scare you. Not because it’s rare - but because it’s normal. Hundreds of exchanges like it operate in the shadows. They look legit. They have apps. They have trading pairs. They have testimonials. But they’re not regulated. They’re not audited. And when the money runs out, they vanish.

Learn from BitForex. Never leave funds on an exchange longer than you need to. Use cold wallets. Verify withdrawal limits. Avoid platforms with no clear headquarters or regulatory status. And if something feels off - walk away.

December 25, 2025 isn’t just a date. It’s the end of BitForex. And if you’re still holding assets there, it’s your last chance to get them back.

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BitForex crypto exchange review: What happened and what you need to know before December 25, 2025

BitForex was once a top crypto exchange with low fees and copy trading - but it shut down in 2024 with $56M missing. Now, users have until December 25, 2025 to withdraw remaining funds before accounts are permanently closed.

Comments (10)

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    Chloe Hayslett December 5, 2025 AT 23:00

    Of course it’s gone. Every crypto exchange that doesn’t have a CEO who went to Harvard and a compliance team bigger than the IRS is a walking scam. We warned you. You wanted ‘high leverage’ and ‘low fees’ like it was a discount at Walmart. Now you’re crying because the house of cards collapsed. Not my problem.

    And that 5% monthly fee? Classic. They’re not stealing your money anymore-they’re charging you to watch it disappear. Bravo, BitForex. You’ve redefined predatory capitalism.

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    Jonathan Sundqvist December 7, 2025 AT 05:30

    Logged in yesterday. Still shows $3,800. KYC submitted 3 weeks ago. No reply. No update. Just a spinning wheel and a ‘we’re working on it’ banner.

    Worst part? I still check every day like an idiot. Like maybe today’s the day they finally fix it. They won’t. They’re just milking the last drops before vanishing. I’m done.

  • Image placeholder
    Thomas Downey December 8, 2025 AT 18:01

    One cannot help but observe the profound moral decay embedded within the contemporary cryptocurrency ecosystem. BitForex, in its brazen abandonment of fiduciary responsibility, has become a grotesque monument to unregulated greed.

    Where once we might have trusted institutions to safeguard capital, we now surrender our assets to anonymous entities registered in Seychelles with no legal recourse, no audit trail, and no semblance of ethical conduct.

    This is not merely a failure of finance-it is a collapse of civilizational trust. The phrase ‘not your keys, not your coins’ was never a slogan. It was a prophecy. And we, the naïve, have become its unwitting martyrs.

  • Image placeholder
    Annette LeRoux December 10, 2025 AT 07:05

    I just want to say… I’m so sorry if you’re still holding onto hope. 💔

    It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to feel betrayed. But please, for your own peace of mind-withdraw what you can. Even $5. Even $1.

    Don’t let them steal your future too. You’ve already lost enough. Take back what’s left. You deserve better. 🌱

  • Image placeholder
    Jerry Perisho December 11, 2025 AT 23:24

    Withdrawal deadline is Dec 25 2025. That’s 18 months from now. Why so long? Because they’re hoping you forget. Or die. Or give up.

    They’re not fixing anything. They’re just delaying the inevitable while charging you $10/month to sit there.

    Do KYC. Withdraw everything. Don’t wait. Don’t hope. Just go.

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    Manish Yadav December 12, 2025 AT 19:04

    This is why we need to stop trusting these fake crypto sites. They look good but they are all lies. They take your money and run. I told my cousin not to use BitForex. He didn’t listen. Now he is crying. Sad.

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    Vincent Cameron December 14, 2025 AT 03:51

    BitForex didn’t collapse. It evolved.

    It became a mirror. And in that mirror, we saw our own complicity. We wanted easy money. We ignored red flags. We traded on hype, not history.

    They didn’t steal from us. We gave them permission to.

    The real scam isn’t the exchange. It’s the belief that anyone else can hold your wealth better than you can.

    That’s the lesson. Not the deadline. Not the fee. The illusion.

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    Krista Hewes December 15, 2025 AT 22:45

    okay so i did the kyc like 2 weeks ago and i still havent heard anything… im so stressed i havent slept… my mom keeps asking if i lost all my money and i dont know what to tell her… i just want to cry 😭

  • Image placeholder
    Noriko Robinson December 16, 2025 AT 15:44

    It’s heartbreaking to see how many people got hurt here. But please, don’t give up. Even if it feels impossible, take one step. Log in. Check your balance. Submit your docs again. Reach out to one person in the BitForex subreddit. You’re not alone.

    There’s a community out there trying to help. And you deserve to get your money back. Keep going. One day at a time.

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    Mairead Stiùbhart December 18, 2025 AT 15:29

    Oh sweetie, you thought this was a crypto exchange? No, darling. It was a very expensive performance art piece called ‘How to Ruin People’s Lives Without Getting Arrested.’

    And the best part? The gallery is still open. For your money. Until December 25.

    Go get it. Before the curator decides to burn the receipts.

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