The famous American crypto exchange Bittrex will offer trading services in pairs with USD in certain states. The decision is due to the addition of a banking partner, according to a company statement Thursday.
According to Bloomberg, the crypto exchange has signed a banking agreement with New York financial institution Signature Bank, which will allow the exchanger to accept deposits in US dollars and list cryptocurrencies for trading directly against the dollar.
Since its founding in 2013, Bittrex has been a crypto-to-crypto exchange, facilitating trading between cryptocurrency pairs, but not against the US dollar. The exchange has added USDT to its listings, a dollar-pegged token created by blockchain startup Tether. However, at the moment, this token cannot be reliably converted into dollars.
Today, the exchanger is in 18th place in the list of the largest crypto exchanges, its daily trading volume is approximately $100 million. Volume is likely to increase now that the platform is one of the few to offer fiat-to-crypto trading support.
Bill Shihara, CEO of Bittrex said:
“It's been a very long journey. that banks can trust Bittrex, but that they can trust cryptocurrency in general. I believe this is truly an indicator that digital currency is starting to gain general acceptance.”
Finding a banking partner is quite a challenge for most crypto exchanges, as many institutions are unwilling to serve companies that operate in an industry that is unfairly considered a haven for money laundering and illegal activity.
Even Coinbase had to rely to some extent on small banks that were willing to take a chance on companies in the nascent but rapidly growing industry. Earlier this year, the company's name made headlines after its UK subsidiary signed an agreement with Barclays.
“They're really looking at and disrupting the whole business,” Shihara, a former Amazon security engineer, said of banks. “They want to make sure that we have sound anti-money laundering and KYC (know your customer) procedures. They do background checks and stuff. They look at our business very closely."
According to ccn
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