Singapore suspends crypto exchange over row with K-pop band BTS

In October, the platform was threatened with legal action by the BTS management company, Hybe Corporation, for promoting Army Coin to traders using an unauthorised image of the band and distributing what it said was false information that the coin was made for BTS and intended to maximise its profits.

BTS made history earlier this year after being named global recording artist of the year for 2020 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, becoming the first act that performs in a language other than English to top the annual ranking.

Founded in Singapore in 2018, Bitget sponsors the Italian football team Juventus, and claims to have more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Its website claims the business was valued at more than $1bn (about ?760m) in the latest financing round.

The platform reported that as of 30 November, it had 11,626 traders handling a 24-hour trading volume of $4bn. It introduced a Turkish website on 5 November.

Bitget has been contacted for comment.