Bitstamp To Halt Trading Of Polygon, Chiliz And Other Altcoins: Is SEC To Blame?

Bitstamp will "permanently" halt trading for a selection of altcoins for its clientele based in the U.S.

What Happened: The crypto exchange stated that it has a "comprehensive framework in place to continuously evaluate" cryptocurrencies and that it takes into account "the dynamic regulatory environment."

"Considering recent developments, we are making some changes to our crypto offerings—specifically for our customers residing in the United States."

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The digital assets impacted by this decision include Axie Infinity AXS/USD, Chiliz CHZ/USD, Decentraland MANA/USD, Polygon MATIC/USD, NEAR Protocol NEAR/USD, The Sandbox SAND/USD, and Solana SOL/USD.

The change will take effect from Aug. 29.

Bitstamp emphasized that while trading for the seven tokens will be discontinued, users retain the ability to store these tokens in their accounts and can opt for withdrawals whenever they wish.

Why It Matters: With its roots dating back to 2011 and its current base in Luxembourg, Bitstamp holds the distinction of being the oldest crypto exchange. Recent data from CoinGecko indicates that the exchange has facilitated trades amounting to approximately $175 million in the last day alone.

While Bitstamp refrained from detailing the exact rationale behind this move, there were subtle indications pointing towards the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent actions.

Specifically, the SEC's decision to label all seven of the aforementioned tokens as unregistered securities in its legal challenges against Binance BNB/USD and Coinbase COIN.

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