Cryptocurrency Exchange , Bittrex has become the latest to suspend all listed XRP trading pairs due to the legal complications created around the digital currency after the US financial regulator’s lawsuit against Ripple.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the exchange detailed that it will remove four listed XRP pairs: BTC-XRP, ETH-XRP, USDT-XRP and USD-XRP.
“Bittrex will remove XRP markets on Friday, January 15th, 2021, at 4 PM (PST),” the exchange noted. “Until further notice, customers will continue to have access to their XRP wallet on Bittrex after the markets are removed.”
A Major Crypto Lawsuit
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the California-headquartered Blockchain company and its two top executives, alleging that it illegally raised $1.3 billion since 2012 by selling XRP tokens, which falls under the category of security.
Around a dozen of crypto exchanges and funds have already decided to delist XRP from their offerings. CrossTower was the first to delist the token, even before the official confirmation of the lawsuit, which was followed by other exchanges.
Though only small exchanges were first in line to end their relationship with the XRP token, they were joined by big exchanges like Coinbase, which is also planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US.
Founded in 2014, Bittrex is known for listing almost all digital currencies, big or small. It offers services with a local entity in the US but with a Bermuda-registered entity globally.
Though prominent exchanges like Coinbase and Bittrex are set to cut their ties with XRP in weeks, other global giants like Binance and Huobi are still listing the digital currency.
Meanwhile, Ripple recently issued a small statement saying “we will defend our company and look forward to settling this matter in court to finally get clarity for the U.S. crypto industry.”
