CryptoSlate
Phemex placed 82 unique USDT spot pairs under Special Treatment on August 31, requiring users to pass a mandatory Risk Cognizance Test before trading any of them. The restriction took effect at 10:00 UTC and applies to established assets including ETC, XTZ, SNX, YFI, NEXO, AXS, USDe and TUSD. Two notices were published together, totalling 83 entries, but MAGIC/USDT appears twice in the second list, leaving 82 distinct markets.
Why it matters
The list reaches well beyond a typical small-cap cleanup. USDe is Ethena's synthetic dollar, a top-10 stablecoin by market cap; TUSD is TrueUSD, another regulated stablecoin; ETC and SNX are long-standing majors by market-cap ranking. If these are tripping Phemex's risk thresholds, the broader reading is that the exchange's bar for keeping a listed pair has tightened materially, and other venues may follow.
Phemex assigned each pair to one or more of three categories: persistently low volume and insufficient liquidity, project teams failing to respond to operational-update requests, and missed whitepaper milestones without public explanation. The notices do not specify which reason applies to which pair, but the underlying thresholds are published: a pair lands in low-liquidity status if three of four tests trip, including average daily volume below 30,000 USDT for three consecutive months or market cap below $3 million over the same window. A separate potential-risk classification needs only one listed trigger, ranging from a security breach to negative public reports.
Market impact
The exchange said it will continue reviewing the projects and may remove the Special Treatment tag if they recover, or delist the token later if conditions deteriorate. No withdrawal deadline has been set, but holders were told to monitor announcements and evaluate risk during the observation period. The action lands a fortnight after Bitfinex gave users 14 days to withdraw 13 delisted tokens, signalling that compliance-led pruning is becoming routine across major CEX venues rather than a one-off cleanup.
Frequently asked questions
-
What did Phemex announce about these 82 pairs?
Phemex placed 82 unique USDT spot pairs under Special Treatment on August 31, requiring users to pass a Risk Cognizance Test before trading any of them.
-
Why are ETC, SNX and USDe on a Special Treatment list?
Phemex cited three trigger categories: chronically low liquidity, project teams failing to respond to operational-update requests, and missed whitepaper milestones. The exchange did not specify which reason applies to which pair.
-
Can Phemex delist any of these tokens?
Yes. Phemex said it will continue reviewing the projects and may delist a token if conditions deteriorate, though no withdrawal deadline has been set so far.
-
What liquidity threshold did Phemex publish?
A pair is flagged low-liquidity if three of four tests trip, including average daily volume below 30,000 USDT for three consecutive months or market cap below $3 million over the same window.
-
Is Phemex's action part of a broader CEX cleanup trend?
The move lands two weeks after Bitfinex gave users 14 days to withdraw 13 delisted tokens, suggesting compliance-led pruning is becoming standard practice across major exchanges.
CoinTelegraph
Crypto Rank News
Whale Alert
TheBlock
CoinDesk
WuBlockchain