Embattled crypto exchange Bittrex US to allow withdrawals from Thursday

Following a decision by a Delaware bankruptcy court, the American branch of cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is scheduled to open for customer withdrawals on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Delaware bankruptcy court Judge Brendan Shannon authorized Bittrex US and its affiliates:

“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.”

Bittrex withdrawals

In an email to a media outlet, Patty Tomasco, a partner at the law firm Quinn Emmanuel and Bittrex’s representative, said: “The platform will be up and running for withdrawals on Thursday, June 15.”

The exchange declared bankruptcy in May after the US government sued it and its CEO for sanctions violations. The US government has opposed the legal attempt of Bittrex to allow customers to access holdings once more. 

Tuesday’s ruling stated that future clawbacks may occur and that the judgment does not establish who legally owns those assets or whether customer claims are preferred over those of the government.

After announcing in March that it would be ending operations in the United States the following month, the exchange saw withdrawals amounting to millions of dollars. On May 8, the company declared bankruptcy.

According to the exchange, as of May 10, its US arm had $300 million in customer cash and cryptocurrency. Although transactions are typically frozen during bankruptcy proceedings, the company claimed it wanted customers to have access to their money without protracted legal battles.

Bittrex was among the first cryptocurrency exchanges to face the full wrath of the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), which has now turned its guns on Binance and Coinbase citing they are operating as an unregistered securities exchange among other things.