The Seattle-based exchange, one of the largest in the world, will roll out USD pairings for BTC, USDT and TrueUSD
Initially only available for corporate customers in some states, Bittrex intends to expand the service to retail customers
Bittrex, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has said that it has made banking agreements that will allow some of its customers to trade crypto for US dollars.
According to the report in Bloomberg, the Seattle-based exchange is working with New York-headquartered Signature Bank to provide the service for corporate clients in certain states - with the bank and some other firms holding the dollar funds.
In an interview, Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara explained how this move is a significant milestone not just for Bittrex, but for the industry as a whole:
“It’s been a long path. It’s not just about banks being able to trust Bittrex. It’s about banks being able to trust crypto in general. And I think it’s really showing that crypto is turning the corner in terms of mainstream acceptance.”
Bill Shihara
Shihara also explained how the traditional banking industry is wary of the cryptocurrency market:
“They really do look and pore through the entire business. They want to make sure that we’ve got robust AML/KYC processes, that we’ve got the right controls on our finances. They do background checks and everything. They really look at our business soup to nuts.”
Bill Shihara
Set to launch fiat trading on Thursday for Bitcoin, Tether and TrueUSD, these pairings for regulatory reasons will only be available to corporate clients in California, New York, Washington and Montana. According to the report however, the exchange intends to expand to retail customers in the future.
With Bittrex offering one of the highest number of crytpocurrency pairings in the world, and a customer base of 3 million users, the new announcement is an important development for the fledgling industry as it pushes more and more into the mainstream.