Coinfloor UK-licensed crypto exchange drops Ethereum

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A cryptocurrency exchange based in the U.K. is delisting Ethereum in 2020, focusing exclusively on offering access to BTC.

Effective January 3, 2020, Financial Conduct Authority-licensed exchange Coinfloor will no longer offer access to Ethereum trading, in a significant blow for the cryptocurrency and its profile in the U.K.

According to an announcement from the exchange, all deposits, buying and selling activity will cease on this date. However, users will still be able to withdraw or store Ethereum with Coinfloor beyond the deadline, albeit at a greater cost.

Obi Nwosu, founder and CEO of Coinfloor, said the decision to delist Ethereum comes at a time of waning relevance for the cryptocurrency amongst developers and users. Nwosu said the real aim of crypto should be creating the world’s new money, supporting both operators and developers in building the next generation of financial services.

“The ecosystem of businesses and consumers using or holding bitcoins is growing every day as more people start to recognise its worth. Coinfloor has the opportunity to create financial services that not only meet the…ecosystem’s needs, but also contribute to making this future form of money available to everyone.”

However, Nwosu recognised that other cryptocurrencies still have a role to play: “That being said, we continually look to identify other cryptocurrencies that provide a differentiated proven value proposition, have a strong capable community of supporters, and maintain a focus on decentralisation and censorship resistance.”

The decision to drop Ethereum comes at a time when a growing number of developers are moving to Bitcoin SV. While BTC remains the dominant cryptocurrency worldwide based on market cap, BSV is becoming the developer protocol of choice. This month, BSV has eclipsed ETH in daily transactions. With faster transaction speeds, lower costs and superior developer infrastructure to both BTC and Ethereum, Bitcoin SV is the only cryptocurrency adhering to the original whitepaper version of bitcoin.