- Bittrex wants users to withdraw ahead of deadline so the staff has time to remedy issues
- Exchange ended US operations due to “continued regulatory uncertainty” effective April 30
Bittrex Inc., the US arm of bankrupt crypto exchange Bittrex Global, emailed its US users a reminder that they have to withdraw their funds from the platform “as soon as possible,” News BTC wrote. The deadline to withdraw funds is August 31, but Bittrex wants users to do it sooner so the staff has enough time to remedy unforeseen issues.
According to the email, a US bankruptcy court has given Bittrex Inc. permission to let customers who meet the regulatory requirements withdraw any remaining assets from their accounts.
Regulators drove the exchange out of the US
On March 31, the exchange tweeted that it was terminating its US operations due to “continued regulatory uncertainty,” effective April 30. They added that all funds were safe and customers could withdraw them immediately and in full.
SEC issues
On April 17, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Bittrex, accusing them of violating securities laws. They allegedly traded unregistered securities, among other things. Later, leading exchanges like Coinbase and Binance would have the same fate. Both exchanges have been sued by the regulator, with Binance facing 13 charges.
After news of the charges broke, Bittrex tweeted:
We are disappointed with the SEC’s decision to bring an enforcement action against Bittrex as part of Chairman Gensler’s larger crusade to drive cryptocurrency out of the United States. The impact of the SEC’s approach of regulation by enforcement will have a chilling effect on not just cryptocurrency in the United States, but on blockchain technology and innovation in general.
They filed for bankruptcy in May
The lawsuit had a highly adverse impact on the exchange’s operations. On May 8, Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to legal documents, Bittrex had big financial problems. One indication of this was that its creditors exceeded 100,000.