On October 30, Bittrex, a major cryptocurrency exchange, received approval from the US bankruptcy court to halt its operations in the United States and liquidate its assets to repay creditors.
Judge Brendan Shannon of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware gave the green light to Bittrex’s revised Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan, effectively bringing an end to the company’s nearly decade-long presence in the United States.
Bittrex’s decision to wind down its US business followed months of uncertainty, attributed to unclear cryptocurrency regulations in the country.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took legal action against Bittrex shortly after it announced its US exit, alleging securities law violations and categorizing six tokens on its platform as securities.
Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, later reaching a $24 million settlement with the SEC. The company’s international arm, Bittrex Global, continues to operate in other jurisdictions while its US operations conclude.
It’s worth noting that the SEC’s actions against Bittrex drew criticism from various industry stakeholders. Paradigm, for example, submitted an Amicus brief, asserting that the SEC’s authority did not extend to regulating secondary markets for cryptocurrencies.
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