Bitfinex culls 87 token pairs against Bitcoin, Ethereum

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex will be removing a total of 87 trading pairs from March 26, 2020 (10:00 AM UTC).

According to the announcement, 87 trading pairs were chosen for removal due to having low liquidity. Bitfinex hopes that their removal will produce a more "streamlined and optimized trading experience" for its users.

The removal will see Bitfinex's 368 active trading pairs decreased to 281, and will remove all available trading pairs for dozens of altcoins.

"The removal of these trading pairs will serve to consolidate and improve liquidity on Bitfinex," the announcement said.

The vast majority of trading pairs scheduled for removal are Ethereum (ETH) pairs, with Ethereum losing more than 50 trading pairs. Some of the most notable pairs due for delisting including Dether (DTH/ETH), Dragonchain (DRN/ETH), SingularityNET (AGI/ETH) and Bancor (BNT/ETH).

Beyond this, the Euro and the Pound will see their Verge (XVG/EUR) trading pairs axed.

Although Bitfinex is cutting pairs to improve liquidity for its remaining assets, the exchange has seen its global trading volume climb significantly in recent months—climbing from under $50 million per day in December 2019 to over $400 million as of today. However, according to statistics provided by CoinGecko, more than two-thirds of Bitfinex's trading pairs achieve less than $10,000 in trading volume per day, while around half see less than $1,000 per day.

Some of the platform's least liquid assets have avoided the cull and will remain in operation—including some trading pairs (e.g. iExec RLC RLC/USD) that have less than $100 traded per day and spreads of more than 50%. But for how long?