American cryptocurrency exchange, Bittrex, has announced that it will be winding down its US operations due to the "current US regulatory and economic environment." The small Seattle-based company will continue to operate its Bittrex Global platform, which caters to traders outside of the US.

Bittrex's winding down comes as US regulators tighten their grip on the crypto industry. Last week, the SEC issued a Wells Notice to US-based Coinbase, which publicly traded firm's staking products allegedly constitutes unregistered securities, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued the world's biggest crypto exchange, Binance, allegedly violating trading and derivatives rules.

Bittrex had agreed to pay $29m to settle enforcement cases with US authorities for "apparent violations" of sanctions against countries including Iran, Cuba, and Syria.

(By Mat Di Salvo)