Globix, a cryptocurrency trading venue that filed for liquidation on the 10th of March 2023 has secured a court order that freezes digital assets and incentivizes crypto exchanges to hand over customer information as they search for $43 million of missing funds.
Following an extensive investigation into the alleged theft, a Gibraltar court ordered Binance, to halt attempts to move assets from several Globix-linked crypto wallets. The court has also ordered Bitstamp, crypto.com, and Kraken to identify account owners linked to the collapsed crypto trader and hand over customer information.
Globix in Gibraltar
Miracle World was a crypto exchange operating as “Globix” or “Globix Cash”, with investors in Gibraltar and the United Kingdom.
The crypto trader was trying to carve a niche in crypto investing by letting customers choose automated trading strategies and pick attractively valued tokens. This plan was interrupted as a crisis of confidence gripped the crypto market, causing several major crypto tokens including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to lose a chunk of their value.
Several once-prominent firms in the crypto landscape also filed for bankruptcy due to the ripple effects of this market shakedown.
After the crypto market crisis in 2022, Globix closed its doors to investors in June last year. Daniel Carreras, the sole shareholder, and director, also a Gilbraltarian citizen, voluntarily put Globix into liquidation last month after a prolonged period of struggling to pay investors. He said the company suffered digital theft and plans to recover the funds by working with the necessary authorities.
It is believed that this is the first time an injunction in relation to crypto assets has been made in Gibraltar. While the country has previously developed plans of becoming a global crypto hub, the failure of several major crypto firms in Singapore and FTX in the Bahamas has pushed financial centers to reassess regulatory policies.
Globix was not licensed by the local regulators but its current situation has seemingly called into question whether the architects of Gibraltar’s crypto ambitions can adequately identify risks to consumers. The government of Gibraltar said the case demonstrates the need for firms to be licensed and supervised.
