Share this article
Crypto Exchange Bittrex to Wind Down U.S. Operations Next Month
The firm took note of an uncertain regulatory and economic environment in the U.S.
By Helene Braun
Updated Apr 3, 2023, 4:38 p.m. Published Mar 31, 2023, 8:05 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex will shut down its U.S. platform on April 30 after nine years of operation, the company announced on Friday.
“It’s just not economically viable for us to continue to operate in the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment,” said Bittrex co-founder and CEO Ritchie Lai in the statement. “Regulatory requirements are often unclear and enforced without appropriate discussion or input, resulting in an uneven competitive landscape,” he continued. “Operating in the U.S. is no longer feasible.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
All customer funds are safe, said Lai, and are available to withdraw.
The closure does not affect Bittrex Global, which operates in Europe and South America, among other locales, and will remain open for trading.
U.S. regulators in recent weeks and months have upped their oversight of crypto-related companies, and crypto exchanges haven’t been spared. Coinbase recently disclosed receipt of a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Kraken shuttered its crypto staking service in the U.S. and paid a $30 million fine in a settlement with that agency.
Most recently, Binance and its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao were sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the reguylator alleging the exchange offers unregistered crypto derivatives products in the U.S.
CORRECTION (March 29, 2023 14:45 UTC): Bittrex Global does not operate in Canada.
More For You
Pudgy Penguins is building a multi-vertical consumer IP platform — combining phygital products, games, NFTs and PENGU to monetize culture at scale.
What to know:
Pudgy Penguins is emerging as one of the strongest NFT-native brands of this cycle, shifting from speculative “digital luxury goods” into a multi-vertical consumer IP platform. Its strategy is to acquire users through mainstream channels first; toys, retail partnerships and viral media, then onboard them into Web3 through games, NFTs and the PENGU token.
The ecosystem now spans phygital products (> $13M retail sales and >1M units sold), games and experiences (Pudgy Party surpassed 500k downloads in two weeks), and a widely distributed token (airdropped to 6M+ wallets). While the market is currently pricing Pudgy at a premium relative to traditional IP peers, sustained success depends on execution across retail expansion, gaming adoption and deeper token utility.
More For You
Crypto faces fork in the road as Clarity Act support wavers, Bitwise says
The asset manager argued that without federal legislation, the industry has three years to become indispensable before political winds potentially shift.
What to know:
- Bitwise said in a blog post Monday that Polymarket odds for the Clarity Act have fallen from 80% to 50% following industry pushback.
- If the bill fails, Bitwise believes crypto must achieve mass adoption in stablecoins and tokenization to force a regulatory hand.
- The firm anticipates a sharp rally upon the bill's passage, while a failure would likely lead to a "slower ascent" tied to proven utility.
Top Stories
