- Bittrex Global will cease trading on December 4th. Withdrawals will still be available after this date, but only certain currencies will be liquid.
- The news comes nine months after the company’s United States arm, Bittrex US, was shut down.
- The SEC charged and eventually fined Bittrex over US$ 20m for operating as an unregistered broker/exchange.
Long-running crypto exchange Bittrex has formally announced it is shutting down all business operations, effective as of the 4th of December. Customers with money on the platform will still be able to withdraw assets post this date, but they must convert portfolio holdings into EUR or crypto to ensure they will remain liquid.
In an official statement, the company warned users against depositing assets:
Do not make any deposits to our platform. We cannot guarantee that they will be received safely.”
Bittrex
Bittrex went on to say: “It is with great regret that we announce that Bittrex Global has decided to wind down its operations. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the inconvenience it may have on our valued customers.”
Bittrex has been operational since 2014, making it one of the oldest crypto exchanges on the market.
Bittrex Shut Down Was a Long Time Coming
The Liechtenstein-based crypto exchange has endured a rocky 2023, as the evolving regulatory environment took another victim. The platform’s partner company, Bittrex U.S., was the first casualty as the exchange ceased trading in April this year due to “continued regulatory uncertainty”.
Things got worse for the company and CEO William Shihara, who was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) later that month for “operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency”.
Bittrex US filed for bankruptcy in May and ultimately settled its legal battle with the SEC, yielding US$ 24 million (AU$ 36.5 million) in fines to the North American regulator. It’s likely this outcome had some impact on Bittrex Global’s bottom line and ultimately contributed to the exchange’s downfall – but just how much we may never know.
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