Hitbtc exchange - what a disaster, can they recover?

::Update 2 1/2/18 10:00PM PST:: It now appears that Hitbtc does not accept Etherium contracts which is how many of the exchanges are apparently transferring funds to Hitbtc. See this post for a potential solution:

https://forum.hitbtc.com/discussion/4741/if-you-are-experiencing-a-trx-deposit-delay-read-this

Hopefully with a little time, this will help many people get their money into their accounts!

::Update 1:: It appears some are starting to be able to transact, let's hope this is a good sign that the rest of the deposits will come through (crossing fingers):

https://www.reddit.com/r/hitbtc/comments/7nq3wd/withdrew_eth_took_50_min/
https://www.reddit.com/r/hitbtc/comments/7np81m/my_aeon_finally_came_through/

ORIGINAL POST:

There is a major issue on the Hitbtc exchange (located in Hong Kong? Panama?). Many users are reporting lost deposits (they're confirming on the blockchain, but not showing up in their wallets). This issue has escalated particularly quickly as many arbitragers saw a lucrative opportunity by transferring their coins/tokens only to find out that nothing is being credited to their accounts. Other users report difficulty trading and withdrawing funds. Normally you would expect TRX or other cryptos (other than BTC/XBT) to transfer in less than a day, but some are reporting over 2 months with no recognized deposits to their intended wallets on Hitbtc and basically zero customer support. Another trader on Reddit who is into automated trading said they had currency go 'missing' in transactions and couldn't get an audited statement to verify.

We will have to wait and see if this a very over-taxed software system and customer management, or true fraud. Many are hoping for the latter, and that delayed and pending deposits eventually get credited to the accounts they were sent to.

Many of you, also, have your coins/tokens stuck in transit to or from Hitbtc. I have seen many theories about why including:

-Hitbtc is stealing $ (some transfers are over 30 days with no actual deposit and no response from support)

-They are not built for the volume they received and don't have the manpower to respond to tickets

-They may be working on it, but are not communicating anything but a canned ticket response

-They are going to eventually give everyone their money when the market tanks and they've used it to make a profit

-They were hacked (again)

Hitbtc seems to be secretive about how to contact them other than through ticket support (no phone number, address, etc.), and others are threatening lawsuits and submitting information to the FBI on Reddit. Other users have reported losing tens to over a hundred thousand of dollars -- waiting for it to eventually deposit into their wallet on HitBTC. Word to the wise, i'd stay away until they can fix their issues -- if they ever credit everyone's accounts for the millions of dollars worth of crypto in limbo.

I have talked to some users who have used Hitbtc and have had mixed responses. Some have said that they have used it prior to the end of December, before it went to hell, and it worked ok. It sounded like they had similar issues as Kraken (transfer, sell, withdraw errors, etc.) before the apparent wave of transactions hit them like a ton of bricks. Then again, maybe this is what they want us to think. We won't really know until a human answers everyone's question about what is going on.

Have you successfully used Hitbtc to trade, deposit and withdraw to/from? What do you think is going on? Have you successfully received TRX recently? Leave your experiences in the comments section.