It’s a sad day for the cryptocurrency community as news of Bittrex’s decision to close its operations in the United States has come to light. This move comes from regulatory hurdles the government and other US-based financial institutions pose.
This news follows an earlier US government’s legal action against leading exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance.
Bittrex Shuts Down US Exchange Activities
On March 31st, Bittrex, one of the most significant and longest-established US cryptocurrency exchanges, declared the closing of its services to its US clients due to the nation’s current regulatory and economic climate.
However, the announcement states that customers’ finances would remain safe and ready for withdrawal until the termination date. Richie Lai, the co-founder of Bittrex, complained that the US regulatory atmosphere had generated an unbalanced competitive arena, fundamentally altering the company’s activities, despite its years of functioning in the nation.
He said the crypto sphere is vastly dissimilar after nine years. Regulatory demands are frequently indistinct and enforced without appropriate discourse or input.
He noted that the difficulties have made it impossible to continue operating in the country. Consequently, the board of directors will shut down the firm’s US-related services by April 30th, allowing customers to retrieve their funds before that time.
Also read:He said all user funds are secure and ready to be withdrawn (for those who have completed Know Your Customer registration). Lai further revealed that trading would be allowed until April 14th, 2023, and all funds should be drawn on or before April 30th, 2023.
US Regulators Ramp Up Pressure On Exchanges
US regulators have been enforcing regulatory policies on crypto firms in the past few months, particularly crypto exchanges. As a result, various exchanges have been put in a situation where they need to decide between stopping their business operations or shifting their base of operations outside of the US to evade potential fines and hassles.
For instance, the SEC issued a Wells notice to Coinbase on March 22nd, implying probable measures against the exchange for potential breaches of securities laws associated with its stake-related services and digital wallet.
Also, the CFTC took legal action against Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao and Binance.com, a worldwide cryptocurrency platform, making it the latest exchange to be targeted by regulators. Meanwhile, Gary Gensler, the current SEC chief, has opined that all activities performed on the Ethereum blockchain are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He further stated that most cryptocurrencies could be considered securities.
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