Mid-Tier Crypto Exchanges Continue to Fold Amid Regulatory Pressures

ABFinance, a US-compliant crypto platform founded by Helen Liu, former Co-CEO of Bybit, has canceled its launch and begun an orderly liquidation. The company announced the decision on X without citing a specific reason, and since it never went live, no customer funds were involved.

The shutdown marks the fourth centralized exchange exit in six weeks, following AscendEX, BitMEX, and BitMart. Industry observers attribute these exits to fixed compliance costs, thin retail volume, and regulatory pressure squeezing mid-tier venues below the top tier.

Liu had introduced ABFinance as a US-based platform with compliant licenses from day one, aiming to capture a different market without importing offshore regulatory baggage. However, U.S.-licensed crypto venues carry a heavier operating burden than their offshore counterparts, including state-level licensing, banking access, custody requirements, and compliance staffing.

BitMEX will shut its derivatives venue on September 23, while BitMart stops spot trading and new futures positions on August 26, with the platform going dark at the end of January 2027. AscendEX closed first, after a multi-million dollar funding round collapsed under MiCA pressure in the European Union and failed financing.