The Trebit cryptocurrency exchange Tuesday declared bankruptcy and decided to shut down its operation on May 15.

Through its notice, it said it would suspend service on May 15 and asked investors to withdraw their investments before the closure date.

It apologized for the closure, saying it has no choice but to shut down out of scandals linked to voice phishing.

It also attributed the shutdown to its inability to open bank accounts between the exchange and investors.

Investors are likely to sustain multibillion dollars in the loss as they have no way of taking out local currency investment from the bankrupt exchange. Investors cannot get legal protection for investment in the cryptocurrencies under the current South Korean law.