04 March, 2020 | AtoZ Markets – Cryptocurrency liquidity refers to the level of ease with which a crypto asset can be exchanged for cash without affecting the price of that asset. Delisting is a common measure to increase the liquidity of cryptocurrency exchanges. In 2019, Binance removed approximately 30 trading pairs from trading to improve liquidity and the trading experience for users. It noted that the choice of trading pairs was "requested by most project teams.
Bitfinex Will Delist Several Crypto Trading Pairs on March 6
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex is expected to remove a total of 46 cryptocurrency pairs from its platform as of March 6, due to the low liquidity of several altcoins. The delisted pairs include a wide range of altcoins traded against Ethereum (27 pairs), Bitcoin (16 pairs) and OmiseGo. It also includes 0x against DAI and Verge against the Japanese yen.
The exchange noted that delisting trading pairs is a common measure. It should improve liquidity on the Bitfinex platform and lead to a "more streamlined and optimized trading experience for our users".
Bitfinex recommends that users cancel any open orders on the above currency pairs before March 6 10:00 AM UTC. Any remaining open orders will automatically cancel by the system.
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino also explained that many token projects launched during the 2017 ICO boom simply did not take off.
"Bitfinex, like other major cryptocurrency exchanges, made the decision this year to go through a liquidity consolidation process. It resulted in a decreasing number of listed trading pairs," said Ardoino. "Our decision is part of a broader industry trend, with many projects born in 2017 having now lost their appeal."
Read More: Paris Blockchain Week Summit Rescheduled due to Coronavirus Epidemic
The Decline of the Global Altcoin Market
According to Bitfinex, these exchange pairs captured large volumes at the time of adoption, but slowly lost their appeal due to the decline of the global altcoin market. Some are currently illiquid, with a daily volume of less than $ 100.
The crypto exchange reviewed the trading history of the platform over six months and identified the low-interest pairs. It has decided to follow a consolidation process to concentrate all the liquidity of a given project on a single pair, usually the USD pair.
Bitfinex currently has no hard cap on the number of pairs it hopes to support, as the digital asset landscape is still new and evolving. The platform would support around 300 projects after the listing is down. According to the exchange, it seems to be a reasonable limit at which it will set itself.
In 2018, Bitfinex started to list an increasing number of trading pairs thanks to its close collaboration with the Ethfinex community. It is a hybrid platform offering users access to public sales of the ERC20. Over the past two years, the exchange listed around 2 to 3 pairs for each project. The project also usually one pair based on USD and one pair based on BTC or ETH. However, it gives about 350 pairs currently on the platform.
Think we missed something? Let us know in the comment section below.