Amid stinging complaints against American legislators and financial supervisors, a cryptocurrency exchange has announced a switch in focus to its international operations, including its posting in Bermuda.

The founders of Bittrex are to redirect efforts to the organisation’s offices in Bermuda and Liechtenstein after announcing that they are to close up shop in the United States at the end of this month.

Richie Lai cofounded Bittrex with fellow ex-Amazon colleagues Bill Shihara and Rami Kawach in 2014.

The Seattle-based company is a sister organisation to Bittrex Global, which is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and has an office on the island.

The company said the closure announcement does not impact Bittrex Global, which will continue operations as normal for its customers outside the US.

In a statement, Mr Lai said: “As a direct result of continued regulatory uncertainty and a lack of interest from US regulators regarding sensible policies that will foster innovation and enhance the American economy, Bittrex US has made the difficult decision to wind down and will close its US operations, effective April 30, 2023. All customer funds are safe and can be withdrawn until that date.”

He added: “The sad reality is that while policymakers and regulators in jurisdictions around the world work with digital asset exchanges on shaping the future of the global economy, their US counterparts are seemingly committed to extinguishing the industry and sending it overseas.

“We are truly grateful for the support of our US customers and team during the last nine years. My co-founders and I remain committed to growing Bittrex Global, which operates and services customers outside the US only, providing its customers across the world with the safest, most secure, and most compliant exchange on the market.

“Founded on the same principles of security, innovation, and compliance, Bittrex Global remains regulated in two of the jurisdictions that have led the way in innovative, secure, and market-leading regulation of digital assets: Bermuda and Liechtenstein.

“Bittrex Global will continue to bear the title of the world’s most secure regulated crypto exchange. We look forward to continuing our work towards our foundational goal of maturing the crypto space on a global scale now and in the future.”

Last year, Bittrex US paid a $29 million settlement to the US Department of the Treasury after investigations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

A Treasury statement at the time said: “Investigations by OFAC and Fincen found apparent violations of multiple sanctions programmes and wilful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act’s anti-money laundering and suspicious activity report reporting requirements.”

News of the closure of Bittrex US comes just two months after the company laid off more than 80 staff.

It also comes amid a crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry generally by US regulators in the wake of the spectacular implosion of FTX Trading and its far-reaching aftermath.