Crypto Exchange Bittrex Winds Down U.S. Operations
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Bittrex, an exchange that claims it offer the “widest selection of cryptocurrencies in the U.S.” and marked its ninth birthday last month, said it would end its U.S operations, saying it can’t operate amid a rising tide of regulatory scrutiny.
It doesn’t make financial sense to stay open, given “the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment,” the firm said. “Regulatory requirements are often unclear and enforced without appropriate discussion or input, resulting in an uneven competitive landscape.”
Key Takeaways
- Bittrex cited ‘continued regulatory uncertainty’ for the wind-down.
- Exchange to stop trading on April 14, and asked customers to withdraw funds by April 30.
- The company added that customer funds are safe during the process.
- Non-U.S. customers will not be affected by the move.
Regulators have taken enforcement action against several cryptocurrency platforms, in recent months. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fined Kraken $30 million and Coinbase faces impending legal action.
The crypto exchange said April 14 would be the last trading day for the U.S. platform and that customers must withdraw their funds by noon PDT on April 30. The company has different deadlines for varying modes of transferring funds away from the platform.
Deposit to addresses were closed immediately and the company also said that its U.S. referral rewards program and U.S. staking programs have also been terminated. The decisionwon’t affect the Bittrex Global Service and the company said all user funds are safe.
Bittrex had over 400 cryptocurrencies on its platform. That pursuit of so many altcoins may have been one reason that it wasn’t attracting big trading volumes. As of March 31, that stood at a little over $20 million.
