In an email to CoinTelegraph, HitBTC, the 14th largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, denied allegations that it froze personal accounts for Jan. 3rd's Proof of Key event. Proof of Key's organizer Trace Mayer, along with crypto notables John McAfee and Tuur Demeester, publically suggested HitBTC was limiting withdrawals to protect the exchanges solvency. A HitBTC representative stated the freezes were due to preexisting exchange rules.