The Bittrex exchange has announced that it will delist more than 30 tokens for US investors. This is an attempt to stay on the safe side of regulators in that market. The exchange made an announcement through the exchange’s communication team:


“Effective on June 21, certain markets will no longer be accessible to U.S. Customers. This change DOES NOT affect the availability of these markets on Bittrex International for non-U.S. Customers.”

This measure is certainly anticipating a more stringent regulatory climate in the USA. Bittrex has a reputation for being secure and stable. This stability apparently extends to being on the safe side of regulators.

Walling Off

Walling off essentially means that Bittrex will lock out USA based traders from the listed tokens. As such, coins like QTUM, STORJ, ENG, MFT and FCT will no longer be available. This is because of the Securities and Exchange Commission recent actions suggest that it is about to up the ante on select coins. The challenge by the KiK platform, in particular, seemed to ignite the ire of regulators who are now on the offensive.

Therefore, after the effective date, Bittrex will place a virtual wall around the United States. This essentially means that traders in that jurisdiction will not be able to access the delisted trading pairs. The development does not affect international traders. This is a market the exchange is keen to continue growing in despite local regulations.

As such, the American users will be ‘geo-fenced’ from the assets. This is how the phrase ‘walling off’ comes to have accurate description of the process. Notably, the announcement comes hot on the heels of another exchange, Poloneix announcing it would conduct the same ‘walling off’. This trend is ‘therefore’ testament to the fact that crypto traders have uncertainty about the regulatory landscape in the short-term.

Bittrex Performance

Bittrex is certainly a top exchange with over 200 cryptocurrencies listed. The exchange intends to communicate this process to users via email and their available options. Notably, this exchange places a high priority on security and this includes suspending accounts immediately on suspicion of malicious activity.

Reports of hacks are rare. However, the exchange had to delist Bitcoin Gold after an $18 million hack in May last year. This hack, that involved hackers getting access to 51 percent of BCG hash rate improved awareness as to security concerns. As such, the Network keeps about 90 percent of exchange funds in offline cold wallets. This makes hacking less of a systemic risk. The exchange has a flat exchange rate of 0.25 percent.

Customers also need two-factor authentications to make withdrawals and API calls. This is because customers who don’t have 2FA set up have limits on their withdrawal amounts. Bittrex supports trading in most countries with the exception of North Korea, Iran, the Crimean region, Syria, and Cuba. Notably, anyone who has economic sanctions levied against them by the USA government is also banned.

Regardless, there are scathing customer reviews as to accounts closure is noteworthy. Moreover, the Bittrex can update the exchange interface to compete favorably in the market.

All the same, Bittrex is doing its best to ensure it is on the safe side with US regulators. This strategy will secure the exchange’s availability even though it can come at the expense of certain user preferences.