Bittrex, a popular cryptocurrency exchange, has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. This comes after the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Bittrex of violating security rules over several years.
According to a court filing, Bittrex has an estimated $500 million to $1 billion in assets and liabilities. Additionally, two other Bittrex companies, Bittrex Malta Ltd. and Bittrex Malta Holdings Ltd., also filed for bankruptcy protection. Last month, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Bittrex for operating an unregistered exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Once a major crypto exchange in the US with a market share of nearly 23% in 2018, Bittrex's market share has dropped to less than 1% since 2021.
The bankruptcy filing comes at a time when several other exchanges are facing similar lawsuits, such as bitFlyer. Bittrex has not yet commented on the bankruptcy filing publicly.