Hotbit, a cryptocurrency exchange, has ceased operations, claiming a slew of challenges and implying that centralised exchanges are unlikely to be effective in the long run. Hotbit claimed in a statement on its website that its operations would terminate in the early hours of May 22, and that users should remove any remaining assets by June 21 at 4 a.m. UTC. “We want to say thank you and take a bow right now,” the team stated in the message. The platform, which claims to have served 5 million members, attributed the decision to deteriorating operational conditions, which were aggravated by a forced stoppage for several weeks in August last year when a former employee was investigated.