Bittrex, a cryptocurrency exchange, has filed for bankruptcy in the United States
In the ongoing war against cryptocurrencies, Bittrex has been the latest victim.
On May 8, Bittrex Inc.’s operations in the United States submitted a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the company of operating an unregistered securities exchange.
Approximately $500 million to $1 billion was estimated to be Bittrex’s assets and liabilities. It also stated that it has more than 100,000 creditors.
According to insiders, the firm is still holding crypto assets belonging to US customers who did not withdraw payments by April 30.
The funds are “safe and secure,” it claimed, adding that it intends to petition the court to restore customer accounts so that they can withdraw.
Bittrex Global Is Unaffected
The company also stated that the bankruptcy case had no impact on its offshore operations in Liechtenstein, Bittrex Global. However, two additional companies, Bittrex Malta Ltd. and Bittrex Malta Holdings Ltd., have also filed for bankruptcy in the United States.
A Bittrex representative clarified:
“This announcement has no bearing on Bittrex Global, which will continue to operate normally for its customers outside the United States.” clients who did not withdraw their monies from the platform before the end of April, your assets are still safe and secure, and our top aim is to make our clients whole.”
On April 17, the SEC filed a complaint against Bittrex, alleging that the company and its management were marketing and selling unregistered securities. Bittrex refuted the claims, arguing that the assets it offered did not constitute securities.
Because the United States Congress has yet to officially define crypto assets as securities, this is yet another example of the SEC using extrajudicial enforcement proceedings to circumvent the law.
US operations have already been halted
Bittrex announced the closing of its US exchange in late March, amid federal regulators’ growing battle on cryptocurrency. In October, Bittrex was fined $53 million for violating anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Bittrex, founded in 2014, was formerly one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. It currently has a daily volume of around $7 million and supports 799 trade pairings, according to CoinGecko.
Today’s fall in cryptocurrency markets was 1.8%, bringing the total valuation to $1.18 trillion.
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