Imminent Bittrex Global closure triggers $10k Bitcoin premium on platform

Bittrex Global’s imminent closure has led to Bitcoin (BTC) trading at a substantial premium exceeding $10,000, data from its website shows.

The exchange’s BTC/US Dollar pair surged to $46,300 before retracing to $44,613 as of press time, significantly surpassing the current average price of $36,450 on major platforms like Binance and Coinbase.

Data from Tradingview further shows that BTC trades on Bittrex Global had slightly diverged all year but have become more prominent during the past day.

This premium trend extends to its Ethereum (ETH) pairing with the U.S. Dollar. The ETH/USD pair on Bittrex Global trades for over $2,400, notably higher than the $2,038 rate on other exchanges.

Interestingly, these asset pairings with stablecoins like USDT don’t reflect this premium and are trading at regular prices.

Data shows that the firm’s BTC/USD and ETH/USD trading pairs recorded around $4 million worth of trades during the past day.

What is causing the premium trades?

This premium pricing on Bittrex Global may indicate users’ attempts to shift their assets into the leading digital assets for withdrawal, as the exchange already informed users of the discontinuation of U.S. dollar payouts.

Instead, users have been advised to convert their holdings to cryptocurrencies or Euros before initiating withdrawals.

The premium might also suggest that market makers are leaving the platform due to its impending closure. This departure of market makers could result in reduced liquidity within the exchange’s order book, leading to a shallow market depth susceptible to significant influence by large trades conducted on the platform.

Over the past year, Bittrex has considerably struggled due to regulatory challenges and low trading volumes. The firm halted its American operations around April and subsequently filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. in May.

Additionally, the company reached a $24 million settlement with the U.S. securities regulators in August.

Bittrex Global has yet to respond to CryptoSlate’s request for comment as of press time.