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Bittrex crypto exchange to close US operations

Bittrex, one of the oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges serving US customers, announced that it would be shuttering its US platform. "It's just not economically viable for us to continue to operate in the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment," explained CEO Ritchie Lai, who went on to blame "unclear" regulatory requirements that are "enforced without appropriate discussion or input". The exchange gave its customers until April 30 to withdraw their funds.

In October 2022, Bittrex was fined a combined $29 million by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The OFAC fine pertained to Bittrex's service of users based in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, who altogether performed $263 million in transactions using the platform. FinCEN's fine was imposed as a result of alleged "willful violations" of requirements around anti-money laundering and suspicious activity reports.

Bittrex will continue operations outside of the US, and currently operate in Europe, South America, and elsewhere.

Theme tags: Law