Poloniex ends margin trading, lending services for US customers

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Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex is removing margin trading and lending products for its customers in the United States, effective “by the end of the year.”

In a blog post last Oct. 3, the company announced it is also delisting three digital assets as part of its “ongoing commitment to ensure that Poloniex complies with regulatory requirements in every jurisdiction,” although it did not specify which regulation it’s referring to.

Additionally, Poloniex reported that by October 10, they will delist three cryptocurrencies—Synereo, Expanse and Gnosis. Because of this, customers are advised to stop trading the coins and withdraw any remaining balance until November 9 at 12 p.m. ET.

Established in 2014, U.S.-based Poloniex was acquired in 2018 by Dublin-based payments technology firm Circle for $400 million. It is currently ranked 38th by the adjusted trading value.

Poloniex came under scrutiny in July when its users took to social media and its support center to report that they had been locked out of their accounts. This called for intervention from the Delaware Department of Justice (DoJ), which initiated an investigation in July. Users had reportedly been receiving emails from Poloniex requiring them to verify their accounts within 14 days failure to which they would be frozen. This was to be done through a policy calling for people to update their IDs.

In May, CoinGeek.com reported that customers of Poloniex have been complaining of frozen accounts. Complaints have been piling up on Reddit and other social networks that a number of Poloniex’s legacy users have not been able to access their accounts or even successfully go through the verification process.

This isn’t the first time that regulation has prompted Poloniex to halt its services in the United States. In 2017, the exchange pulled out of the Washington State due to the state’s “impractical financial services regulatory framework.”