The controversy began after Polish news websites money.pl and Wirtualna Polska reported on an analysis showing the exchange's accessible bitcoin reserves had fallen by 99 percent.
The report cited analysts who found that the average monthly bitcoin balance in Zondacrypto's operational wallet dropped from around 55.7 BTC in August 2024 to just 0.086 BTC by April 1 this year, worth roughly PLN 21,000 (USD 5,690).
It also noted that over PLN 76 million (USD 20.6 million) has been transferred from Zondacrypto to another exchange.
The company serves over a million clients, with about 75 percent based in Poland, and around 500,000 of them active.
According to money.pl, if even a small portion tried to withdraw funds simultaneously, the exchange – with such reserves – would not be able to cover the withdrawals.
Separately, users reported difficulties accessing their money, and several sponsored sports clubs said they had gone months without receiving contractual payments.
In a statement issued overnight, CEO Przemysław Kral said the exchange held more than 4,500 BTC as of April 1 and that all customer obligations were fully covered.
He attributed the near-empty figures cited in the report to an analytical error.
The analysis had only examined the exchange's "hot wallets", which are internet-connected accounts used for day-to-day transactions.
Customer funds, he said, are stored in offline "cold wallets" for security reasons, which are not publicly visible.
Kral also said withdrawal delays were caused by temporary technical issues linked to a security system upgrade, and announced legal action against the outlets behind the story.
Zondacrypto, which has operated since 2014, declined to provide public proof of its cold wallet holdings.
(ał)
Source: PAP, money.pl