- Crypto exchange Bittrex has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the state of Delaware.
- The U.S. Treasury Department’s OFAC is listed as the bankrupt exchange’s largest creditor.
- The bankruptcy filing comes less than a month after the crypto exchange was sued by the U.S. SEC.
Bittrex Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the state of Delaware. The Seattle-based crypto exchange’s bankruptcy filing comes less than a month after it was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The exchange announced last month that it was winding down operations in the United States in light of the deteriorating regulatory landscape.
Bittrex Owes $25 Million To Treasury Department’s OFAC
According to a report by Bloomberg, Bittrex’s Chapter 11 filing listed assets and liabilities reaching up to $1 billion each. Court papers viewed by Bloomberg revealed that the crypto exchange’s affiliated entities including Desolation Holdings LLC, Bittrex Malta Holdings Ltd., and Bittrex Malta Ltd also filed for bankruptcy. The exchange has clarified that the operations of Bittrex Global will not be impacted by its American entity’s bankruptcy. As for customer assets, the exchange assured its users that their funds are safe and secure on the platform.
The #1 creditor in Bittrex's Chapter 11 is the OFAC department who they agreed to pay $25m as a settlement for violating Sanctions/AML🌲 https://t.co/UgukJUx5w0 pic.twitter.com/GyMwOhdMiV
This announcement does not impact Bittrex Global, which will continue operations as normal for its customers outside the U.S.”
Ironically, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is listed as the bankrupt exchange’s largest non-insider creditor. Bittrex owed a whopping $25 million to OFAC as part of a settlement both parties reached in October last year. OFAC imposed the multi-million fine on the crypto exchange over alleged violations of multiple sanctions programs as well as the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA’s) anti-money laundering (AML) and suspicious activity report (SAR) reporting requirements. At the time, the enforcement action on the exchange was OFAC’s largest ever.
Bittrex’s bankruptcy filing comes less than a month after it was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged violations of federal laws. The securities regulator charged the exchange and its former CEO Bill Shihara, with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The regulator also charges its foreign affiliate with failing to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with the American entity.
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