Bittrex, a popular cryptocurrency trading platform, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the District of Delaware, according to court filings made on May 8.
What Happened: The company estimated that it has more than 100,000 creditors, with assets between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities in the same range.
Included in the bankruptcy are Bittrex, Inc’s Seattle-based entity, two Bittrex entities in Malta, and the Desolation Holdings LLC affiliated entity. But Bittrex Global GmbH, which is the entity behind the exchange and is based in Liechtenstein, was not included in the filing.
See More: Is Bitcoin a Good Investment?
Why It Matters: This move comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, charged the firm and its co-founder and former CEO William Shihara for securities violations in April.
The SEC claimed that Bittrex, Inc and Bittrex Global operated an unregistered securities exchange. Furthermore, last year the exchange faced charges of Bank Secrecy Act violations from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, agreeing to a $29 million settlement.
Bittrex owes $24.2 million to OFAC, with the U.S. authority being the largest creditor in the bankruptcy. A crypto wallet that holds a $14.5 million claim is next in line, with FinCEN also listed as a top 50 creditor with a claim of $3.5 million.
Bittrex’s bankruptcy is the latest addition to this growing list of companies in the crypto industry facing financial trouble.
Bittrex is a crypto exchange that allows trading in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $27,659, down 2.03% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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