Hotbit Crypto Exchange Review: What Happened and Why You Should Avoid It

Hotbit was once promoted as a crypto exchange with over 2,800 coins - more than almost any other platform. It looked impressive on paper. But behind the numbers was a story of poor customer service, sky-high fees, and ultimately, a complete collapse. If you're wondering whether Hotbit is still operational or if you can get your money back, the answer is simple: Hotbit is gone. It shut down permanently in 2023, and most users never got their funds back.

Hotbit Was Never Regulated

Hotbit never held a license from any major financial regulator. Not the SEC. Not the FCA. Not even a local authority in China or Taiwan, where it claimed to have offices. That’s not a small detail - it’s a red flag that should have stopped anyone from depositing money there.

Without regulation, users had zero legal protection. If Hotbit froze your account, you couldn’t file a complaint with a government agency. If they disappeared with your funds, there was no watchdog to step in. This is the opposite of what you’d find on Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken - all of which operate under strict oversight in at least one country.

TradersUnion.com confirmed in 2025 that Hotbit had no regulatory oversight. That means there was no requirement for them to keep customer funds separate from company money. No audit requirements. No insurance for losses. Just a website with a trading interface and a promise you could withdraw your crypto.

Withdrawal Fees Were Outrageous

Most exchanges charge between $1 and $3 to withdraw USDT or Bitcoin. Hotbit charged $30. That’s not a mistake. That’s a business model designed to trap small traders.

Sitejabber reviews from March 2023 show users were furious. One wrote: "They charged me today 30 USDT just to withdraw to another USDT address. THIEVES!" Another said they couldn’t withdraw because their balance was under $30 - meaning their funds were locked forever.

This wasn’t an isolated issue. Multiple users reported being hit with the same fee regardless of how much they were withdrawing. Even if you had $50 in USDT, you’d lose 60% of it just to move it out. That’s not a fee - it’s theft disguised as a service charge.

Customer Support Was Nonexistent

When something went wrong, users turned to Hotbit’s support team. Most never got a real reply. According to reports from February and March 2023, responses took 7 to 10 days - if they came at all.

Many users got automated replies like: "Your request is being reviewed." No case number. No timeline. No explanation. Some said they emailed 10 times and got the same auto-response every time.

There was no live chat. No phone number. No help center with guides or FAQs. The platform offered no educational resources, no troubleshooting articles, nothing. If you didn’t know how to use it, you were on your own.

The Shutdown Wasn’t a Surprise

On August 15, 2022, Hotbit’s assets were frozen by law enforcement. The reason? A criminal investigation into a former executive. That wasn’t a hack. That wasn’t a market crash. That was a legal action against internal fraud.

After that, the platform didn’t go offline. It kept running - but slowly. Withdrawals took 30 to 60 days. Users started panicking. Then, in November 2022, FTX collapsed. That triggered a wave of fear across the entire crypto industry. People pulled money out of every unregulated exchange.

Hotbit couldn’t handle the outflows. By May 22, 2023, they officially announced they were shutting down for good. They gave users until June 21, 2023, to withdraw their funds. But by then, most people couldn’t get their money out.

Recovery Services Are Scams

After the shutdown, websites popped up claiming to help Hotbit users recover their funds. Sites like hotbit.us.com started collecting emails and asking for "recovery fees." Some even posted fake testimonials: "I got my money back thanks to Presley Jossie!"

Here’s the truth: those are scams.

TradersUnion.com found that 92% of these "recovery services" targeting Hotbit victims are fraudulent. They don’t recover funds. They just take your money a second time. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) even issued a public alert in July 2023 warning people about these exact scams.

If someone contacts you offering to get your Hotbit money back - especially if they ask for cryptocurrency upfront - walk away. You’re not getting your funds back. You’re just giving more to criminals.

Why Did Hotbit Even Exist?

Hotbit launched in 2018 during the last crypto boom. Back then, anyone could start an exchange. No license needed. No audits. Just a website and a marketing team.

They survived by attracting users with one thing: coin variety. Over 2,800 tokens. That sounds amazing if you don’t know that 90% of those coins were low-quality, low-liquidity, or outright scams. Most were created just to pump and dump.

Compared to exchanges like Binance or KuCoin, Hotbit had no real trading volume. No institutional support. No security team. Just a lot of coins and no way to prove they actually owned them.

Their user base peaked at around 750,000 - tiny compared to Binance’s 100 million. Their Sitejabber rating was 1.7 out of 5 from just 13 reviews. That’s worse than most sketchy new apps on the App Store.

What Happened to the Money?

Nobody knows for sure. But here’s what we do know:

- Hotbit never disclosed where customer funds were stored. No proof of reserves. No audits.

- After the asset freeze in August 2022, no new deposits were accepted - but withdrawals were still possible, just painfully slow.

- By June 2023, accounts were permanently closed. No access. No recovery.

- The company’s servers were shut down. No data remains publicly accessible.

Experts from Delphi Digital estimate that unregulated exchanges that shut down without restarting within 90 days have a 99.7% chance of losing all user funds. Hotbit took over 9 months. The odds were already against you.

What You Should Do Now

If you still have an account on Hotbit: stop trying to log in. The platform is gone. Any site claiming to be Hotbit is fake.

If you lost money on Hotbit: accept the loss. There is no official recovery process. Don’t pay any "recovery agent" - they’re just stealing again.

If you’re looking for a new exchange: stick with regulated platforms. Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini all have licenses, insurance, and clear customer support. They’re not perfect, but they’re not criminals.

Final Thoughts

Hotbit wasn’t a failed exchange. It was a Ponzi scheme wrapped in a trading interface. It offered too many coins, charged too much to withdraw, ignored its users, and vanished when the pressure came.

Its story isn’t unique. Hundreds of exchanges like it popped up during the crypto boom. Most died quietly. Hotbit just got caught.

The lesson? Never trade on an exchange that doesn’t tell you where it’s regulated. Never trust a platform that charges $30 to move your crypto. And never, ever believe someone who says they can get your money back from a dead exchange.

If you want to trade crypto safely, start with a regulated exchange. Your money - and your peace of mind - will thank you.