OKEx, the world’s fifth-largest crypto exchange, announced on Oct. 29 plans to launch Tether (USDT) futures trading, featuring a linear contract with leverage of up to 100x. Stablecoin futures, the exchange said, offer a simpler and more efficient means to navigate the market, and could open the door for many new retail traders. Related: Bitfinex Cries Fraud as Crypto Capital Executive Indicted by US This news prompted a few murmurs. Stablecoin provider Tether, after all, has been the subject of some unsettling news stories, as Cointelegraph recently reported. Is USDT broken? Kevin Batteh, who serves as the Chamber of Digital …

Over the past week, the global crypto community bore witness to a unique case wherein California resident and blockchain entrepreneur Seth Shapiro filed a lawsuit against American telecom giant AT&T — alleging that a couple of the firm’s employees had perpetrated a nefarious SIM-swap scheme that resulted in the former losing $1.8 million in various crypto assets. Shapiro, who is a two-time Emmy Award-winner, as well as an author and adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, filed the aforementioned lawsuit against AT&T on Oct. 17, claiming that between May 16, 2018 and May 18, …

Bittrex International, Malta-based international unit of United States’ crypto exchange Bittrex, will cease operations in Venezuela and 30 other countries. No clear reason for the action In an email to Venezuelan customers, Bittrex International announced that the exchange will halt account and trading access to users on Oct. 29, asking them to withdraw their funds with the exchange before that date, Cointelegraph en Español reports on Oct. 19. According to the report, the Malta-based international trading platform of Bittrex has informed its entire user base in Venezuela that it will stop its services for users in the country without citing …

Regulators are clamping down on cryptocurrency, and companies around the world are feeling the strain. In late June, one of the most authoritative regulatory organizations worldwide, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), issued new guidelines on how digital assets should be regulated. While FATF recommendations are not legally binding, the G-20 stated that it uses them to regulate cryptocurrencies for Anti-Money Laundering (AML). For businesses that fail to make the grade, this could mean being shut out of lucrative international markets. No punitive measures have yet been imposed, but companies and crypto exchanges alike are acting fast. What are the …

Cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex has announced Bittrex Global, a new platform headquartered in Liechtenstein. According to a news release shared with Cointelegraph on Sept. 30, Bittrex Global is set to be rolled out at the end of October in the city of Vaduz. Bittrex chose to establish a trading platform in Liechtenstein because of the small country's regulatory clarity toward digital currencies and blockchain technology. New products in accordance with EU law Bittrex Global is planning to develop new features and products, including customer reward programs, credit card interoperability, private token sales under EU law and a mobile app for …

Major United States’ crypto firms such as Coinbase and Kraken are teaming up to launch a rating system to jointly define which digital assets are securities. Crypto Ratings Council to launch on Sept. 30 In a move to provide more clarity on which tokens can be traded without the supervision of regulators, the major U.S.-based exchanges have formed the Crypto Ratings Council, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sept. 30. According to the report, other members of the Crypto Ratings Council include Circle Internet Financial, Bittrex, Genesis Global Trading, Grayscale Investments, Anchor Labs and DRW Holdings' Cumberland unit. The …

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has broken its partnership with Bittrex in a reorganization of its Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT) markets, local South Korean news outlet Decenter reported on Sept. 25. Previously it had a shared order book arrangement, with Bittrex orders being visible in the Upbit bid windows. Upcoming reorganization of markets In a notice to customers, Upbit announced its intention to introduce changes into its BTC, ETH and USDT markets. These changes include the introduction of market orders, limit orders, and stop-limit features, although no further details of this are given. The notice did, however, …

Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex is incorporating Chainalysis know your transaction (KYT) tool to spot high-risk transactions. Compliance standards In a Sept. 26 press release, Chainalysis Inc. announced the deployment of its real-time transaction monitoring solution to the Seattle-based blockchain trading platform Bittrex. In an attempt to meet “new and existing regulatory and compliance standards,” Bittrex incorporated Chainalysis KYT, a software solution that monitors high volumes of activity in the crypto space and helps identify high-risk transactions. Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara said: "As our business continues to grow, having a thorough and reliable transaction monitoring system in place is crucial in demonstrating …

Binance.US, an upcoming subsidiary of one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges that will be compliant to operate within the United States, has recently gotten investors excited with an announcement that the platform was reviewing 30 new assets for listing. Importantly, the news also shed some light on the Digital Asset Risk Assessment Framework — a novel set of criteria to determine blockchain projects that Binance deems worthy of adding to the platform. In the realm of digital finance, one of the biggest imaginable accomplishments for a blockchain startup is to get its coin listed on a major cryptocurrency exchange. …

Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange is partnering with Bahrain-based crypto exchange and custodian provider Rain Management WLL to launch a digital asset trading platform for customers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The new platform will purportedly combine Rain’s staff and expertise in the MENA region with Bittrex’s technology and security infrastructure, according to an announcement on July 31. The platform will offer all the tokens that are currently available on Bittrex and Bittrex International. It will also offer four Bitcoin (BTC) trading pairs with local fiat currencies: the Bahraini dinar, the Kuwaiti dinar, the United Arab Emirates dirham and …

America is the land of opportunity, so long as you don't happen to be a cryptocurrency exchange. For several years now, a number of prominent exchanges have opted not to serve U.S. citizens; in fact, the list of trading platforms avoiding the U.S. is still growing, with Bancor recently announcing that it would block U.S. citizens from using its website to convert tokens. As can be guessed, regulation — or rather, the lack of clear regulation — is the main reason why crypto exchanges are increasingly shying away from the U.S. Exchanges complain about the uncertainty of U.S. securities legislation, …

A New York resident has filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange Bittrex for allegedly withholding funds, industry news outlet The Block reports on June 30. Per the report, the plaintiff claims to have deposited $120,000 onto her Bittrex account in August 2018 and that the company suspended it and refused to release the funds until November of this year. She also alleges that the exchange “attempted to extort her by withholding the funds she had in her account” unless she signed an agreement giving up her rights to sue the company. Bittrex claims that the plaintiff’s allegations are not true …