Messenger Giant Line’s Crypto Exchange to Delist XRP This Month

BitBox, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange of internet messaging giant Line, announced that it will delist XRP on Jan. 16.

BitBox, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange operated by internet messaging giant Line, announced that it will delist XRP on Jan. 16.

Cointelegraph Japan reported BitBox’s decision earlier today. The announcement published on the exchange’s website on Jan. 6 read:

“We keep a constant watch on all coins that are being traded on BITBOX. If a coin does not meet our standards based on its performance, reliability, liquidity, or law and regulatory requirements, it will be delisted from our exchange. To protect your assets and interests, we provide sufficient notice before delisting.”

The crypto asset in question will be delisted at midnight on Jan. 16 together with XRP trading pairs with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT).

BitBox recommended that its users cancel all their trades before the delisting takes place. After XRP is delisted, BitBox’s customers will have until midnight Feb. 16 to withdraw the coin.

Reasons behind delisting unclear

As of press time, BitBox has not answered Cointelegraph’s request for clarification regarding its decision to delist XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at $9.4 billion. 

Looking at CoinMarketCap’s BitBox volume data, only 0.02% of the exchange’s volume came from XRP trading.

BitBox was launched in June 2018 by Line, the firm behind a major Japanese social messaging app. The firm started facilitating crypto trading globally with the exclusion of the United States and Japan at first, but obtained a crypto exchange operating license from Japan’s financial regulator in September last year and expanded its operations as BitMax.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of the blockchain firm behind XRP, recently answered concerns that the company could control the crypto asset’s price due to the significance of its holdings. He claimed that the firm does not want to “dump” its associated XRP cryptocurrency despite selling huge amounts of it and strongly denied the company could influence the XRP price.