Crypto exchange Bittrex's U.S. shutdown approved at bankruptcy court

Crypto exchange Bittrex received court approval for its revised bankruptcy plan to wind down its U.S. operations.

A court filing showed that Judge Brendan Shannon, at a hearing in Delaware on Monday, approved the company’s liquidation plan to repay its remaining creditors.

“As stated on the record at the Hearing, the Court ruled that it would enter a revised Proposed Order, which resolves the SEC’s informal comments,” the filing said.

Bittrex filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged it with running an unregistered exchange. The company then settled with the SEC for $24 million in August.

Non-U.S. operation

While Bittrex has shut down operations in the U.S., Bittrex Global is still active elsewhere. 

In August, Bittrex Global CEO Oliver Linch assured those increasingly wary of having any connection to the U.S., given regulatory uncertainty in the region, that "if they want to do business with a non-U.S. regulated digital assets exchange, Bittrex Global is here for you." 

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, data from The Block show. However, it later collapsed to below 1% in 2021 and hasn't recovered since.