Cryptocurrencies drop 5.5%-18% after Japanese exchange halts withdrawals

Cryptocurrency exchanges, many of which operate with little to no regulation, is now suffering a spate of outages and hacks

Cryptocurrencies slumped after one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in Japan halted client withdrawals.

Coincheck, based in Tokyo, said in a series of tweets that it had suspended all withdrawals, halted trading in all tokens except Bitcoin and stopped deposits into NEM coins. The exchange didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

NEM, the 10th-largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell 18 per cent at 4:47 p.m. Hong Kong time, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin dropped 5.5 per cent and Ripple retreated 11 per cent, according to composite pricing on Bloomberg.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, many of which operate with little to