Bitzlato, the Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchange that was officially seized by European authorities, has announced that it has partially restored access to user funds. According to the exchange, users can now withdraw up to 50% of their assets using the Telegram bot – bz_phoenix_bot – which enables them to move assets from the web Bitzlato account to an external wallet or exchange.
All withdrawals from Bitzlato are processed in Bitcoin as the platform had to convert all altcoin holdings by users into BTC due to technical difficulties associated with servicing multiple altcoins after the seizure.
Despite enabling users to withdraw up to 50% of their assets, Bitzlato has not yet fully resolved the matter concerning the remaining 50% of user funds, and it is possible that the company may have to use its own funds to compensate affected users in the future. The exchange has announced that it will continue its work to restore the platform and aims to provide a service for peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency trading by early April 2023.