The Disrupt

“Crypto exchange Bittrex has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. state of Delaware on Monday, months after announcing it would wind down operations in the country and weeks after being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These changes have not affected Bittrex Global, the non-U.S. crypto exchange.

The exchange believes it has more than 100,000 creditors, with estimated liabilities and assets both within the $500 million to $1 billion range, according to a court filing.”

See Also: Private-Equity Giant Apollo Is Part of a Bid to Buy Bankrupt Crypto Firm Celsius
See Also: P2P Bitcoin Exchange Paxful Back Online After Temporary Suspension

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“Bitcoin was recently trading at around $27,350, down over 5.5% in the past 24 hours, as investors continued to mull over a surge in interest in the PEPE meme coin and Binance congestion issues that forced the exchange giant to temporarily suspend bitcoin withdrawals over the weekend.

[Meanwhile], ETH’s deflationary narrative post-Ethereum Shapella upgrade has strengthened as ETH’s net issuance, or the annualized inflation rate, recently dropped to -2.7%, according to ultrasound.money. More than 62,300 ETH, worth around $116 million, have been burned over the past seven days.

The PEPE craze appeared to be waning with its market cap dropping to some $878 million after peaking above $1 billion before the weekend, Messari data showed.

DiPasquale said BTC might test support between $25,000 and $27,000 before bouncing again, although the economic outlook is favorable for BTC and the broader crypto market to thrive. He called accumulating BTC and ETH on dips a “sound strategy.” ‘Both BTC and ETH haven’t tested near-term supports since the rally we saw around mid-March.’

Greg Cipolaro, global head of research at bitcoin investment firm NYDIG, wrote in a Friday newsletter that despite short-term price fluctuation, BTC is increasingly serving as a “buy-and-hold asset” based on on-chain data.

With more bitcoins being held for longer, a dwindling supply is available for short-term trading. This may result in upward pressure on prices if the demand for bitcoin grows.”

See Also: PEPE Meme Coin Craze Spreads Wealth to Ethereum Validators Running Blockchain
See Also: Pepecoin Drops Nearly 50% From Highs as Traders Likely Taking Profits for Ether

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“Binance has once again resumed bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals after a second pause, as the Bitcoin network suffers from unprecedented congestion.

Binance briefly paused bitcoin withdrawals for around two hours Sunday afternoon U.S. time as the number of unconfirmed transactions hit a record high. Its second pause, taking place Sunday evening U.S. time, was also for just over two hours.

The number of unconfirmed transactions was approaching 500,000 when the second halt took place, from around 400,000 when the first pause occurred. It is now beginning to decline, and is currently just over 430,000 over a 12-hour period.

To prevent a similar recurrence in the future, our fees have been adjusted. Our team has also been working on enabling BTC Lightning Network withdrawals, which will help in such situations.”

See Also: Meme Coin Trading Volume Surges to Two-Year High, Signals Caution for Bitcoin Bulls
See Also: Bitcoin BRC-20 Tokens Near $1 Billion Market Cap as Exchanges List ORDI

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“In a May 7 blog post, Coinbase said CEO Brian Armstrong and some of the firm’s executive team planned to discuss the potential for the UAE “to be a strategic hub” for the crypto exchange. According to the company, it was working with regulators in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority as part of efforts to potentially expand into the region.

[The UAE is] exciting for us as a potential hub to build, as well as an international hub for Coinbase that could serve not only in the Middle East but parts of Africa or other countries in Asia.

I think the U.S. right now is a little bit behind in terms of regulatory clarity and some of the rhetoric from the top.

The UAE has steadily opened up opportunities for crypto firms. Dubai established a legal framework for cryptocurrencies and set up the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in March 2022, taking advantage of the Emirates’ free-trade zones with separate rules and regulations.”

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“Liechtenstein is planning to add bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option for government services.

Any crypto received as payment will likely be immediately exchanged for Swiss francs, Liechtenstein’s national currency, Prime Minister Daniel Risch told the newspaper. Although crypto is too volatile to entrust portions of the country’s multi-billion dollar annual savings, that could change, the Prime Minister reportedly signaled.“

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