30s Summary

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Fairdesk is shutting down its services by end of November 2024, despite only launching in 2021, causing surprise as it was serving US and Canada regions. There were rumors of potential compliance issues which have now become a reality. Existing customers can arrange their accounts until October 17 and the withdrawal function will remain active until closure. Meanwhile, Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, will also stop serving Canadian customers by end of 2024 due to new federal regulations on trading stablecoins.

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The cryptocurrency exchange Fairdesk, which is based in Singapore, recently dropped a bit of an unexpected bombshell. They’ve announced that as of the end of November 2024, they’re going to be bowing out and shutting down all their services. They shared the news via a post on their X.com social media platform, even sending out a press release to confirm it.

Even though Fairdesk was only launched in 2021, since then it has built a solid reputation and loads of folks have used it for high-quality trading. So, its decision to step back from the game has raised a few eyebrows.

For the insider crowd, Fairdesk was one of the few exchanges of its type not based in the United States or Canada, but still serving those regions. Up until it dropped its closure news on October 10, everything seemed to be going business as usual at Fairdesk. Quirkily enough their X.com social media account was still advertising for staff when this article was written.

The pros in the game had always given the nod to Fairdesk for its high-level security and competitive fees, giving it decent reviews. But, there were rumors of potential compliance issues and unfortunately, these rumors have become a reality.

According to Fairdesk, current customers have got a narrow window of time until October 17 to get their accounts in order. After this date, the company is only going to keep the withdrawal function active up until the closure date on November 30.

It’s worth noting that although total shut downs like this are rare in the cryptocurrency exchange scene, when there are regulatory challenges larger firms tend to deal with these on a region-by-region basis.

In other crypto news, Gemini, another cryptocurrency exchange that was founded by the Winklevoss twins, recently announced that it’ll be closing its doors to all its Canadian users by the end of 2024. The Canadian authorities are rolling out new federal regulations around trading stablecoins, which explains Gemini’s decision.

Over in the United States, lawmakers are scrabbling to impose cryptocurrency regulations, with ideas like the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act of 2024 being thrown around as the 2024 US presidential election looms.

Source: Cointelegraph