European crypto exchange Bitstamp will no longer provide seven cryptocurrencies to United States users, citing a challenging regulatory environment in the country.
Starting from August 29, 2023, Bitstamp will suspend trading for a selection of high-market-value altcoins. This list includes Axie Infinity (AXS), Chiliz (CHZ), Decentraland (MANA), Polygon (MATIC), NEAR Protocol (NEAR), The Sandbox (SAND), and Solana (SOL). The exchange’s decision follows the mounting pressure from regulators and the need to ensure compliance with the changing regulatory landscape.
During the suspension period, no new orders can be placed for the affected altcoins. Additionally, existing orders for the aforementioned tokens and associated trading pairs will be canceled.
The decision does not affect Bitstamp users outside of the U.S. and impacts less than 1% of its crypto customers globally as customers in all other markets can continue signing up and using the platform’s crypto services.
“We kindly request our users to promptly execute any desired buy or sell orders involving the affected assets before August 29, 2023. After this deadline, trading activities related to AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, and SOL will be permanently disabled on the Bitstamp platform,” said the exchange in a August 8 announcement.
Although the exact reason for the suspension wasn’t explicitly stated in the, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently alleged that these seven tokens are unregistered securities in its complaints against major cryptocurrency exchanges,
The move indicates that Bitstamp is taking the SEC’s actions seriously and is considering potential changes to comply with regulatory requirements in the digital asset space. The watchdog filed lawsuits against both Binance.US, the American subsidiary of the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, and Coinbase, the largest exchange in the United States. The SEC alleges that several tokens listed on these exchanges are unregistered securities, which violates securities laws.
Binance and Coinbase. Bitstamp clarified that while trading of these tokens will be suspended, users can still retain them in their accounts and make withdrawals at any time.
