The Daily: Poloniex Drops 8 Coins, New Exchange Licensed in Estonia

Cryptocurrency trading platform Poloniex has delisted eight coins with low liquidity, while another US-based exchange, Gemini, is adding litecoin to its offerings. Also in The Daily, Ironx has been licensed to offer exchange services from Estonia, and Bitmain’s Antpool will sponsor NBA team Houston Rockets with bitcoin cash.

Also read: Coinbase Denies Self-Trading, Kraken Gets Feisty

Poloniex Delists 8 Cryptocurrencies

US-based crypto exchange Poloniex has decided to delist eight coins – bitcoindark (BTCD), bitmark (BTM), einsteinium (EMC2), gridcoin (GRC), neoscoin (NEOS), potcoin (POT), vericoin (VRC), and bitcoin plus (XBC). These digital currencies will be excluded from the platform’s offerings on Tuesday, September 25, at 12:00 ET, according to an announcement published on Twitter this week.

The Delaware-headquartered company advised its customers to finalize all trades and close any positions in these cryptos prior to this date. “Once delisted, you will have 30 days to withdraw any balances in these assets,” Poloniex tweeted. No reasons were given for the delisting but none of the coins ranks in Coinmarketcap’s top 100 which indicates low liquidity may be the main motive, Forklog commented.

In a blog post, Poloniex explains that once the deadline has been reached, withdrawals will be disabled and the assets will be fully decommissioned. “From this point forward, we will be unable to process withdrawals of impacted assets. It is imperative that customers withdraw delisted tokens by the withdrawal deadline,” the exchange informed its users.

Gemini Adds Litecoin to Its Offerings

Gemini, another US cryptocurrency exchange, is adding support for litecoin (LTC) next month. The announcement was made during the Litecoin Summit in San Francisco. LTC will be listed on the New York-based trading platform on October 13, which is also the coin’s birthday, the Litecoin Foundation noted in a tweet.

Recently, Gemini Trust announced it’s launching Gemini Dollar (GUSD), a new stable coin pegged to the US fiat currency. The move was approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). The regulatory body is responsible for Bitlicense, the state’s licensing regime for business activities involving cryptocurrencies. According to a study released this week, GUSD accounts can be frozen by the exchange.

New Crypto Exchange Granted License in Estonia

The upcoming trading platform Ironx has been granted regulatory approval by the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit. The license will allow it to operate as a regulated cryptocurrency exchange from the Baltic country, an EU member-state and a leader in digitization on the Old Continent. Ironx is a joint venture between the online brokerage firm Ironfx Group and Emurgohk, the builder of the Cardano blockchain. The exchange is among the first to receive such approval by a European financial regulator, Finance Magnates reported.

Two crypto companies were approved by regulators in Tallinn this past June. Ibinex, a provider of white-label solutions for crypto exchanges and trading software, obtained a license in Estonia giving it the opportunity to launch exchange and wallet services in a European jurisdiction. Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinmetro announced it had secured two licenses in Estonia for crypto-fiat exchange operations and fiat currency e-wallet services.

Earlier this month, Ironfx Group said it expected to launch its crypto exchange in the fourth quarter of this year. Following approval from Estonian authorities, the Ironx Exchange is likely to commence operations in beta by the end of September, initially only for IRX token holders, and the official launch is scheduled for December.

Antpool to Sponsor NBA Houston Rockets with BCH

The National Basketball Association’s team Houston Rockets has agreed to accept sponsorship in bitcoin cash (BCH) from Antpool, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining pools, 8BTC reported. Antpool is owned by the Chinese mining giant and hardware manufacturer Bitmain. The sponsorship deal is covering the upcoming 2018-2019 season. Its announcement comes weeks after Antpool chose the city of Houston to begin its expansion in the United States where the company plans to grow its client base in the crypto mining industry. A luxury car retailer owned by Houston Rockets owner, billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta, also accepts payments in bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin core (BTC). Earlier this year, the owner of Dallas Mavericks, entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban, announced his team will start accepting cryptocurrency for tickets.

What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Antpool (Facebook).

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