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- Bittrex US previously collapsed following regulatory action from the SEC.
- The Ripple verdict hasn’t slowed down the SEC as it continues to go after exchanges.
The crypto exchange Bittrex Global announced on November 20 that it is ceasing its activities.
All trading activities on the platform will stop on December 4. Users have been asked to withdraw their funds before the date. The platform later only allows specific withdrawals.
It is with great regret that we inform you that Bittrex Global has decided to cease operations.
Effective Monday, December 4, 2023, all trading activity on Bittrex Global will be disabled. After that date, customers can only withdraw assets as part of…
— Bittrex Global (@BittrexGlobal) November 20, 2023
Bittrex Global also said it will not pay out in US dollars. Instead, it instructed customers to convert to crypto or euros before withdrawal.
The exchange has ended its referral program and halted all promotions.
The fate of the exchange resembles that of the American branch that went bankrupt this year due to regulatory measures.
In April, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Bittrex US for allegedly operating as an unregistered broker, exchange and clearing agency. The agency has also filed charges against Bittrex Global.
Subsequently, Bittrex US filed for bankruptcy in May. The court approved the bankruptcy plan in October, after which the company could sell its American assets.
The U.S. subsidiary agreed in August to pay $24 million to the SEC as part of a settlement.
Once one of the largest crypto exchanges, Bittrex Global’s 24-hour spot trading volume stood around $19.7 million at the time of writing.
SEC isn’t slowing down
Bittrex is among a growing list of virtual asset platforms hit by regulatory action in the US this year. The latest exchange to receive the SEC’s salvo is Kraken.
The agency indicted the exchange would operate as an unregistered platform offering securities. Kraken immediately denied the allegations.
The SEC also charged crypto exchange Gemini and crypto lending platform Genesis in January for allegedly offering and selling unregistered securities.
In June, the regulatory body went after Binance [BNB] and Coinbase [COIN] with similar accusations.
The SEC had doggedly pursued its case against Ripple [XRP] since 2020. In July 2023, the court finally ruled.
The judge ruled that the sale of XRP tokens on crypto exchanges and through programmatic sales did not constitute a sale of securities. But the institutional sale of XRP tokens did indeed violate federal securities laws.
The crypto community interpreted the verdict as a partial victory for Ripple.
It was believed that the verdict would prompt the SEC to reconsider its approach. But it seems the regulatory body has become even stronger in its long war against the crypto industry.
