Bittrex exits the United States

The conflicts surrounding the crypto industry are reaching new proportions within the United States of America. Due to increasing regulatory strictness, the crypto exchange Bittrex is now also leaving the USA. In this way, the company apparently wants to avoid attacks by US authorities.

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Crypto exchange Bittrex is leaving the US due to growing conflicts

Bittrex is a crypto exchange that was first founded in 2013 in the United States. The headquarters are now in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Previously, Bittrex’ home was in Seattle, Washington.

As one of the older companies in the industry, it has already experienced different phases. Apparently the United States of America hasn’t had any problems yet. Since February, however, that seems to be changing.

US authorities are increasingly acting against the crypto industry. In particular, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comes to the fore. For Bittrex, the original home market now seems unbearable. It was recently announced on Twitter that they wanted to withdraw from the USA.

Due to continued regulatory uncertainty, we have made the difficult decision to wind down our U.S. operations, effective April 30, 2023. All funds are safe and can be fully withdrawn immediately.

This does not affect customers of @BittrexGlobal https://t.co/MY4u7XLk9z
— Bittrex (@BittrexExchange) March 31, 2023

Due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty, we have made the difficult decision to cease our operations in the United States effective April 30, 2023. All funds are secure and available for full withdrawal immediately.

Is it [called. Only the US branch is affected. The Bittrex Global trading platform, which is accessible worldwide, will continue to operate as usual. Still, the announcement seems to deter some users.

According to CoinMarketCap, Bittrex Global’s trading volume drops a whopping 25 percent in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, the trading volume of most major crypto exchanges is increasing significantly.

Crypto industry in the US is declining

Just like Bittrex, several well-known firms in the crypto industry are already on the verge of turning their backs on the US entirely and instead focusing on friendly jurisdictions, notes Senator Cynthia Lummis.

Lummis is known for its crypto-friendly attitude. She has already worked on various draft laws dealing with cryptocurrencies. Her home country is on the wrong track with the latest politics and only harms itself, she explains to CoinDesk.

The failure of the US Congress to take policy action is driving the industry to other countries. Europe is ahead of us in terms of its legal framework.

Lummis explains. In this context, she describes Switzerland as particularly progressive, but Australia and Great Britain are also vying for the industry. Well-known names in the industry agree with Lummis’ findings – such as Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse.

The crypto exchange Coinbase is toying with the idea of founding a subsidiary outside the USA in order to be able to maintain a trading platform in case of doubt. Financial institution Circle opens a branch in Paris.

Nexo , one of the largest crypto lenders, already saw this development coming in January and announced that it was leaving the USA. At the time, the company raised many questions with this decision. Many users found it incomprehensible that regulatory problems should be the reason for the withdrawal.

Only a short time later, the US authorities attacked industry leaders such as Kraken or Binance . After the conflicts with these big names, some smaller companies fear that they will also be targeted by the authorities.

Nexo drew attention to another concern: A large number of regulatory requirements made business in the USA unprofitable. Similar information emerges from the recent Binance case.