Bittrex expands its USD markets to Rhode Island after New York feud

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Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has expanded its USD markets to the state of Rhode Island. The exchange announced on its Twitter page that it had acquired a money transmitter license allowing it to operate in the state.

#Bittrex Community: Bittrex has been approved as a Money Transmitter in the state of Rhode Island! NMLS ID 1544336. We're excited to welcome Rhode Island customers to join our USD Markets. Details: https://t.co/dcbVcWWYxT pic.twitter.com/sr0HVAA3Jw

— Bittrex (@BittrexExchange) April 24, 2019

Bittrex’s USD markets, which allow users to trade, deposit and withdraw U.S dollars, now cover over 40 U.S states. These include California, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Oklahoma. The exchange promised in its updated press release that it would expand its USD markets reach to other states soon.

For personal accounts, the minimum deposit has been set at $1,000, with no deposit maximum. The withdrawal minimum, on the other hand, is set at $10. The exchange will have to screen a user before enabling the USD withdrawal and deposit options.

Additionally, not all the cryptos available for trading on the exchange will have USD pairs. This is to enable the exchange to assess the progress of the first few including BTC/USD and ETH/USD. In time, the exchange promised to add more USD pairs, urging development teams whose tokens are listed on the exchange to reach out for consideration.

Bittrex concluded its announcement by promising its users to continue upholding the same high standards they have come to know and love:

“We’re always exploring new, innovative blockchain projects and market opportunities, like fiat, that continue to uniquely position Bittrex in the industry. Also, our ardent commitment to security, compliance and incubating innovative blockchain projects provides customers and token teams confidence in the long-term growth of the platform. Today’s announcement is just the beginning — we’ve got a lot planned this year to further expand the business and provide new opportunities for our customers.”

Notably, the state of New York isn’t among the supported states. This is after the New York Department of Financial Services denied Bittrex the license to operate in the state, leading to a feud between the two entities. The NYDFS accused Bittrex of not fulfilling the requirements for all money service businesses and portraying the regulator as the bad guy. Bittrex rebutted, claiming that the regulator was just using an innocent victim to assert authority which will do more harm than good in the long run.