Hidden Road has decided to stop offering its customers access to Bybit, the world's third largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.
The decision, which was notified to customers a few weeks ago, stemmed from a disagreement between the two companies over Bybit's know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements, Bloomberg reported.
Regulators in the US and other countries are intensifying their scrutiny of crypto exchanges to ensure they are not being used for money laundering and sanctions evasion. According to the US, digital assets are used by countries such as Russia and Iran to bypass financial embargoes imposed by Western countries.
In response to questions from Bloomberg News, Dubai-based Bybit announced that it had initiated a “comprehensive compliance review” of its primary brokerage business. The review aims to ensure compliance with relevant regulations and improve the customer onboarding process by intermediaries. However, Bybit has not commented on its relationship with Hidden Road.
A Bybit spokesperson said, “Bybit will not comment on specific questions regarding counterparties at this time. However, the company is committed to transparency and will provide further updates as the review progresses.” said.
The exact nature of the dispute between the two companies regarding KYC and AML procedures remains unclear. Prime intermediaries, which cater to institutional crypto investors by offering services such as transaction processing, clearing and financing, are a very important source of liquidity in digital assets. Binance, the largest exchange, accounts for nearly half of global spot trading volumes.
According to CoinGecko data, Bybit, which established a new center in Dubai last year, became the world's third largest centralized crypto exchange in the first quarter, holding 8.2% of the market.
*This is not investment advice.