Atlanta-Based Crypto Exchange Still Owes Clients 4 Years After Closing

Customers of an Atlanta-based crypto exchange that suddenly shut down four years ago are still waiting for their bitcoin to be returned.

A federal jury gave judgment in favor of one of the disgruntled customers in what has been described as a first in the industry. “They completely kept our property, would not respond to reasonable inquiries and literally we had to file the first bitcoin case in federal court to get our money back,” said Jay Daniels, one of the plaintiffs.

Atlanta exchange had 70,000 customers

CampBX, a cryptocurrency exchange that operated in Atlanta, had up to 70,000 customers at its height before shutting its doors after falling foul of regulators.

Attorney John Richard said there is a long line of individuals that have yet to receive their crypto from the exchange. 

“We’ve reached out to a number of customers and a number of customers of CampBX exchange reached out to us who still don’t have their bitcoin back,” he said.

Keyur Mithwala, the founder of the exchange, told reporters in an email that “an overwhelming majority” of customers have received their bitcoin and USD balance in full. 

He added that the reports that the exchange willfully refused to return the client’s funds were false and fewer than 200 customers are still waiting for their funds.

“As of today, we have approximately 190 remaining customers whom we are working to KYC-AML verify and closeout over the next three months,” said Mithwala.

‘No proof’ bitcoin has been returned

However, Richard rebutted Mithwala’s claims. He said that he has “seen no proof” that CampBX returned the bitcoin to a large number of its users. 

“For the bitcoin itself, I’m only aware of one other CampBX customer who has received their bitcoin,” countered Richard.

CampBX was slapped with a cease and desist order by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance in 2018 for engaging in financial transactions without a license. 

The exchange shut down its operations in accordance with the order but the question of customers’ assets continues to linger to date.