Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, will cease trading support for Bitcoin Gold starting January 23, 2025. Users will have the option to withdraw their BTG tokens for up to 30 days following the delisting date.

As per a notice released on December 24, Bitcoin Gold (BTG) will no longer be tradable on the Upbit platform as of January 23, 2025, at 14:30 KST.

This implies that any buy and sell orders placed after January 23 will be canceled automatically by the platform. Furthermore, BTG-related services such as airdrops, wallet upgrades, and hard forks will no longer be maintained.

Since December 10, Upbit has classified BTG as a virtual asset that is “subject to caution” due to its trading volatility. The exchange has since evaluated several factors concerning BTG, including operational transparency, disclosure of significant information, practical viability, and sustainability of its business model. However, as of December 24, the asset’s status has not changed.

“Upbit concluded that the conditions for classifying Bitcoin Gold as a subject of caution have not been addressed, leading to the decision to withdraw trading support per the guidelines for digital assets categorized as such,” stated the exchange.

Immediately after the notice was issued, Bitcoin Gold saw a nearly 25% decrease in value within 24 hours, as reported by crypto.news. The token has been on a steady decline since early December, dropping 35% in the past week and over 60% in the past month.

In terms of market capitalization, Bitcoin Gold ranks 346th, with a market cap of $226 million. BTG boasts a fully diluted valuation of $271 million and has a 24-hour trading volume of $147 million.

Although the delisting is set for January 23, users will still be able to withdraw their BTG tokens for 30 days afterward, until February 22, 2025. However, after this withdrawal period, Upbit cautions users that processing returns may take longer.

Bitcoin Gold is an open-source cryptocurrency that originated from a hard fork of Bitcoin. Its objective is to decentralize the mining process by utilizing a Proof of Work algorithm known as Equihash, which can be executed by standard Graphics Processing Units, rather than depending exclusively on application-specific integrated circuits.

Launched in 2017, Bitcoin Gold is often viewed as a more accessible alternative to the larger Bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrency.