Bankrupt crypto exchange Bittrex U.S. set to open withdrawals: CoinDesk

Bittrex U.S., the American arm of cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex, is preparing to allow customer withdrawals from tomorrow following a ruling by a Delaware bankruptcy court, CoinDesk reported. 

Bittrex was once one of the largest exchanges in the U.S., with a market share of USD support of nearly 23% at the start of 2018, according to data from The Block. However, in March, Bittrex U.S. announced it was shutting down operations after its volumes fell to just 1% of the market, blaming regulatory uncertainty. 

Bittrex U.S. initially said it would process withdrawals for users until April 30. Bittrex Inc. then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged it with running an unregistered exchange, similar to the recent charges against Coinbase and Binance. At the time, the company said it had assets and liabilities each estimated to be worth between $500 million and $1 billion, and more than 100,000 creditors, including the U.S. government. 

Judge Brendan Shannon, in his ruling on Tuesday, granted Bittrex U.S. and its affiliates permission "to permit their customers holding undisputed, noncontingent, and liquidated claims to withdraw cryptocurrency assets and fiat currency from the Debtors’ trading platform to the extent of such claims." However, the judgement did not determine ownership of the assets or favor customer claims over those of the government. It also mentioned the possibility of clawbacks in the future, CoinDesk said.

According to Patty Tomasco, a partner at the Quinn Emanuel law firm representing Bittrex, “the platform will be up and running for withdrawals on Thursday, June 15,” CoinDesk said.

While the bankruptcy court's ruling allows for customer withdrawals, the legal battle regarding the ownership of assets and claims against Bittrex remains.