For perhaps the first time in history, numerous crypto exchanges are refusing to support a top five cryptocurrency with a market capitalization currently north of $ 5 billion, Bitcoin SV (BSV). Even when users of these exchanges requested a BSV trading pair, BSV wallet support, or at least access to the BSV, which they legally owned because they held BCH before BSV branched out from it, several platforms decided to clear, reject, or allow the list postpone access to the FSIO without giving a good reason.
Let’s take a closer look at the exchanges – some of them are among the biggest names in cryptocurrency – that have or continue to delist their customers access to BSV, the only cryptocurrency that has an everyday utility rather than just a speculative vehicle refuse. You will find that in some cases, the exchanges have even stolen their clients’ BSV.
It all started with Binance
The coordinated effort to restrict consumer and business access to BSV began with Binance. Binance Exchange – the most popular cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume – published a blog post on April 15, 2019 saying it was delisting Bitcoin SV. Binance said they chose to do this because BSV didn’t meet the standard they hold on tokens when reviewing projects.
Source: Binance blog
While it is not clear which of these categories BSV falls into, Binance has removed BSV trading pairs from the list – and still does not endorse them. Their apology for delisting BSV is a little contradicting, considering all of the awful tokens they listed, advertised, pumped and dumped under their Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) program are a little contradicting.
ShapeShift was next
After Binance made their announcement regarding BSV, Shapeshift.IO CEO Erik Vorhees made an announcement on Twitter that ShapeShift supported Binance’s decision and that ShapeShift would be removing BSV within 48 hours of the tweet.
We stand by the views of @binance and CZ. We decided to remove Bitcoin SV #BSV from @ShapeShift_io within 48 hours.
– Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) April 15, 2019
Unlike Binance, Shapeshift.io didn’t even provide an ambiguous reason. All they said was that they were into Binance and would support them.
After that … Kraken
Just before ShapeShift made its announcement on Twitter, the San Francisco-based Kraken Exchange ran a poll on Twitter asking the Twitterverse if they should also remove BSV from the list. Your reason? Because “BSV is poisonous.”
Should Kraken take Bitcoin SV (BSV) off the list? #delistbsv
– Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) April 15, 2019
The following day, April 16, 2019, Kraken announced that they would end support for the Bitcoin SV project on April 22, 2019. The crypto exchange says it made this decision because BSV “goes against everything we do at Kraken and which stands for a broader crypto community.” In particular, Kraken cited “fraudulent claims that escalated into threats and legal action” as factors which resulted in their being removed from the list.
Deny BSV holders access to their coins
Delisting or not supporting BSV trading pairs is one thing, but on the other hand, some cryptocurrency exchanges have been stealing their users BSV at high speed. These exchanges prevent their clients, the rightful owners of BSV, from withdrawing their BSV from the exchange and taking advantage of the capital gains and business application that BSV has seen since its inception. Both Bitflyer and Bitstamp fall into this category.
On December 4, 2019, the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Bitflyer released a statement saying it would “grant eligible customers JPY converted from Bitcoin SV (” BSV “) converted from Bitcoin Cash (” BCH “) – Hard fork comes from. In other words, Bitflyer sold BSV to its customers without their permission and paid them a payment in Japanese yen at a rate that, according to their press release, “may be below the market price of the corresponding virtual currency”.
It’s not clear whether Bitstamp liquidated its clients’ BSV portfolios like Bitflyer did. However, the Bistamp exchange did not give their BSV holdings to customers who were holding BCH at the time BSV was founded – even though this event took place well over a year ago. Bistamp customers who held BCH when BSV was diverted from the BCH chain will have an amount of BSV equal to the amount of BCH they owned at the time of diverting. Bitstamp exchange users even created a petition to get the BSV they rightfully own back from the exchange.
Coinbase was on a similar path to Bitstamp and didn’t give its customers access to the BSV they owned; However, a few months after BSV was founded, Coinbase finally opened BSV withdrawals to their clients who received BSV from the hard fork. While Coinbase still doesn’t allow its users to buy or sell BSV, giving them the option to withdraw the BSV they own to an external wallet was a step in the right direction.
Will this lead to relisting or lawsuits?
The fact that major exchanges that are supposed to be leaders in cryptocurrency, like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, don’t list a top 5 coin that has become increasingly popular due to its technical capabilities and utility, and by both consumers and businesses assumed is shocking.
Imagine being a “crypto service provider” and not supporting top 5 coins ..?
– ella (@ ellaqiang9) January 14, 2020
Cryptocurrency leaders should conduct their business with an open mind and provide their users with access to these technologies that can disrupt industries. They shouldn’t exclude their users from these technologies without a valid reason.
With regard to exchanges that have taken over their clients ‘BSV without their permission, there is a strong possibility that those exchanges will be sued and faced with a class action suit for misappropriating their clients’ funds. These types of measures open the crypto exchanges to further regulatory scrutiny in the short term as governments begin to crack down on bad behavior.
Regardless, it wouldn’t be surprising to see several of these exchanges now re-listing BSV as it is one of the top 5 cryptocurrencies, with many companies building on the Bitcoin SV chain. Or, if exchanges don’t get listed again, they could at least give their customers access to the coins they rightfully own. But only time will tell if any of these actions will take place and whether the users of the exchange will band together to bring them justice through the legal system.
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