Bitcoin Private (BTCP), a privacy-focused fork of Bitcoin (BTC), and cryptocurrency exchange HitBTC are on the verge of entering a legal battle.

The public has become aware of the conflict between the cryptocurrency and popular exchange in the wake of a published letter sent by legal representatives of Bitcoin Private (BTCP). The conflict seems to have been sparked by HitBTC’s decision to delist BTCP from its platform.

The legal letter gives a detailed recount of the events that led up to the coin’s delisting from HitBTC. According to official statements, the reason for HitBTC’s decision was BTCP’s scheduled hard fork that took place in February.

The hard fork was an event initiated by the development team following the discovery of approximately two million additional BTCP coins that were covertly mined. Bitcoin Private developers decided in favor of a coin-burn event to remove these units from circulation. As a result, the coin-burn event required exchanges and users to move their current BTCP tokens to a new wallet before block 480,000. Otherwise, their tokens would be also be removed from circulation.

Bitcoin Private vs. HitBTC

According to available information, HitBTC claims to have lost 58,920 BTCP of user funds due to Bitcoin Private’s inability to offer a solution for safeguarding assets on SegWit addresses. As a result, the exchange has requested compensation for the lost funds.

On the other side, Bitcoin Private claims to have offered technical support, having worked closely with HitBTC’s team in order to resolve the issue before the fork. However, the HitBTC team has continued to insist on receiving compensation for its loss of funds.

Ultimately, the Bitcoin Private representatives are hinting that the exchange isn’t acting in good faith and is trying to use the coin-burn event to deceive its users.

Whether or not HitBTC is trying to take advantage of the position Bitcoin Private found itself in after the covert mine debacle remains to be clarified by a competent law enforcement establishment.

$500,000 for a One-Year Listing

Aside from the legal battle that could ensue between the two entities, it has also come to light that Bitcoin Private paid $500,000 to get listed on the exchange in March 2018. The crypto community has often alluded to exorbitant sums being paid to exchanges to get listed — and now there is concrete proof.

In the current bear market, it’s unlikely that projects will have this kind of financial power to pay fees for getting listed. Just as cryptocurrency projects have been forced by the bear market to be more disciplined and improve their output, exchanges also have to provide their best service in order to be able to compete for the dried up demand.

What do you make of HitBTC’s decision to delist BTCP? Did you trade on HitBTC? Share your experience in the comments below!

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