Cryptocurrency market update: OKEx delists 58 crypto pairs, Bitstamp acquired by a Belgium-based firm

• OKEx to remove support for week trading pairs on October 31, 2018.
• Bitstamp exchange acquired by a Belgium-based firmly investment firm.

The cryptocurrency market has been busting with news on Monday 29. While the news has not caused any significant price action, their impact on the larger market cannot go unnoticed.

OKEx has today shocked the entire market following an announced that it is ceasing support for at least 58 trading pairs. The Hong Kong-based crypto exchange said that the tokens being delisted have not been able to meet the standards set by the exchange. The removal of the pairs will take place on October 31, 2018.

“To create a robust trading environment and offer the best trading experience to our users, we will delist several TRADING PAIRS with weak liquidity and trading volume according to the OKEx Token Delisting / Hiding Guideline,” the exchange.

OKEx went ahead and identified the trading pairs that are underperforming. The exchange explained that the pairs with low trading volume couple with less liquidity are the ones being purged. However, the tokens will continue to have support on the platform. OKEx explained:

“Please note that only the TRADING PAIRS with weak liquidity and trading volume, but NOT THE TOKENS themselves, will be delisted. Other satisfactory trading pairs can still be traded normally,”

Still on exchange news, Bitstamp ownership has changed hands following an “all-cash deal” with a Belgium-based investment entity, NXMH.   Reuters reported of the acquisition on Monday 29, although the deal was finalized on October 25. According to the CEO of Luxembourg; a company that has been registered as a crypto exchange, the deal went smoothly but did not reveal the full terms of the acquisition.

NXMH currently operates as an investment management firm that is family owned. It boasts of $2 billion euros in assets. The firm has acquired 80% stake in Bitstamp exchange leaving 10% with co-founder Kodrič, who will continue as the CEO of the company. The other co-founder of Bitstamp, Damian Merlak is said to have let go all his 30%.

Bitstamp is currently ranked 47^th in the market according to CoinMarket. It has a 24-hour trading volume of $21 million.