Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex is adding NEO to its roster of digital tokens available for trading. NEO is now available for trading against US dollars, legacy bitcoin, and ether.
Bitfinex’s announcement indicated margin trading will be “enabled gradually at a later point in time” and will be based on the order book gaining “sufficient liquidity.”
The news boosted NEO after a rocky few days following China’s crackdown on initial coin offerings (ICO). Considered the “ethereum of China,” NEO is China’s first open-source blockchain and was used by many Chinese start-ups to build their projects. While they still can move forward, losing a key fundraising tool will undoubtedly slow growth.
NEO had been trading around $34, but plunged as low as $17 following China’s ban on Monday. It rebounded upon Bitfinex’s news to around $30, representing a 24-hour gain of nearly 50 percent.
The NEO announcement also offers some respite for Bitfinex, which was left scrambling in the wake of an announcement by a joint commission of Chinese agencies that initial coin offerings (ICO) were now banned in the country. That meant customers who participated in the ICOs through Bitfinex had to be reimbursed, creating a logistics nightmare.