Bill Shihara

Bill Shihara (William Hiroaki Shihara) is a software engineer and crypto entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and former CEO of Bittrex, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2014. His background in cybersecurity and software engineering helped shape Bittrex's early emphasis on exchange infrastructure and digital-asset security. After his Bittrex tenure, Shihara became involved in consumer-facing blockchain applications and newer digital-asset ventures, including Cubieverse and Tabit Insurance. Bittrex's regulatory and business history is acknowledged accurately, including Shihara's 2023 SEC settlement. This profile is current as of August 2026 and does not portray Shihara as the current operator of Bittrex.

Founder Snapshot

1. About Bill Shihara

Bill Shihara is a software engineer and crypto entrepreneur whose relevance to crypto is primarily as co-founder and former CEO of Bittrex. His professional path runs from cybersecurity and software engineering roles at major technology companies, through co-founding Bittrex in 2014, to later Web3/gaming and digital-asset ventures. This profile covers his education, technology career, Bittrex founding and leadership, regulatory history, and current ventures, keeping unrelated personal biography minimal.

2. Education

Some public biographies associate Shihara with computer science or engineering education. This profile does not publish the institution or degree until verified from authoritative sources, and does not invent academic credentials.

3. Before Bittrex

Historical biographies associate Shihara with companies including Amazon (Crunchbase lists him as Manager, Security Engineering), Microsoft, and BlackBerry. These roles involved security engineering, anti-malware work, operating systems, cloud services and infrastructure responsibilities. This cybersecurity and enterprise software experience influenced Bittrex's early development. This profile does not exaggerate his responsibility for entire products at these companies.

4. Entry Into Bitcoin

Shihara became interested in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the early 2010s. His early exchange experience and the security concerns he observed motivated the creation of Bittrex. This profile uses direct interviews where possible and does not fabricate a founder origin story.

5. Founding Bittrex

Bittrex was founded in 2014 by Bill Shihara, Richie Lai, and Rami Kawach. The founding team's previous security and technology experience was an important element of Bittrex's early positioning. Bittrex is not attributed solely to Shihara; Lai and Kawach are co-founders. Richie Lai later served as CEO during the company's wind-down.

6. Bittrex

Bittrex operated as a centralized cryptocurrency trading platform that allowed customers to trade a large range of digital assets. Historically, this included spot trading, Bitcoin markets, stablecoin markets, token listings, wallet infrastructure, APIs, institutional products and broad geographic reach. This profile distinguishes Bittrex Inc. (U.S.) from Bittrex Global GmbH where necessary, and does not use current-tense product descriptions for a company that no longer operates.

7. CEO & Leadership

Shihara served as Bittrex's CEO during the company's growth period. His responsibilities included product leadership, security, listings, operations, compliance and exchange strategy. SEC materials refer to Shihara as Bittrex's former CEO and describe relevant conduct during his leadership period. Shihara stepped down from day-to-day leadership before the company's 2023 wind-down; Richie Lai was CEO at the time of the May 2023 bankruptcy filing. This profile does not list Shihara as the current Bittrex CEO.

8. Bittrex's Security Approach

Historically documented Bittrex security practices included cold storage, multi-stage wallet systems, account security, two-factor authentication, withdrawal controls and infrastructure monitoring. Shihara's cybersecurity background was relevant to these practices. This profile does not describe Bittrex as hack-proof, completely secure or impossible to compromise — security systems always involve residual risk.

9. Token Listings

Bittrex became known for listing a broad range of crypto assets. Historically, this involved listing review, token due diligence, market availability, legal/regulatory review and project communications. Exchange listing did not represent endorsement or proof of legality. This section leads naturally into the later SEC case.

10. SEC Regulatory History

On April 17, 2023, the U.S. SEC charged Bittrex Inc., Bittrex Global GmbH, and William Hiroaki Shihara. The SEC alleged that Bittrex operated an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency, and alleged that Shihara was a control person for Bittrex's violations. The SEC also alleged that Bittrex Global failed to register as a national securities exchange in connection with its operation of a single shared order book along with Bittrex. This profile uses SEC and court documents as primary sources and does not describe allegations as criminal findings.

11. Token Statement Allegations

The SEC alleged that during Shihara's leadership, Bittrex coordinated with crypto asset issuers seeking to make their tokens available for trading on Bittrex's platform to delete or modify public statements that Shihara believed would lead regulators to investigate those token offerings as securities. This is presented using the SEC complaint and settlement record, with wording such as The SEC alleged..., and does not convert allegations into criminal findings.

12. Settlement With the SEC

On August 10, 2023, the SEC announced that Bittrex, Bittrex Global and former CEO William Shihara agreed to settle the case. The federal court entered final judgment on August 15, 2023. Bittrex and Bittrex Global agreed to pay, on a joint and several basis, disgorgement of $14.4 million, prejudgment interest of $4 million, and a civil penalty of $5.6 million (totaling $24 million). The companies and Shihara agreed to an order barring them from violating U.S. securities laws. The settlement was reached on a no-admission basis. Shihara called the settlement "a good outcome." This profile does not describe the settlement as a criminal conviction.

13. Bittrex U.S. Closure

Bittrex Inc. announced the wind-down of U.S. operations in 2023 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware in May 2023. CEO Richie Lai confirmed the move, stating the company still had 100% of customer funds. The bankruptcy process addressed customer withdrawals and creditor claims. This profile distinguishes Bittrex Inc. (U.S.) from Bittrex Global and does not imply Shihara was still managing the company during all later shutdown events.

14. Bittrex Global

Bittrex Global GmbH was the international affiliate of Bittrex Inc. It was included in the SEC's 2023 case. Bittrex Global announced it would halt trading on December 4, 2023, and began winding down operations. Bittrex Global is not described as active; it has ceased operations.

15. Bittrex: Current Status

As of August 2026, Bittrex Inc. (U.S.) is closed (Chapter 11 bankruptcy, 2023) and Bittrex Global is closed (halted trading Dec 2023, wound down). No original Bittrex trading business remains active. This profile does not confuse the historical Bittrex brand with unrelated services that may use similar names. Status checked: August 2026.

16. Coin Hunt / Coin Hunt World

Coin Hunt World was a consumer blockchain project with location-based gameplay and blockchain rewards. Shihara's exact relationship to Coin Hunt (founder, co-founder, investor or advisor) is presented only where verified; this profile does not infer founder status without evidence. Readers should consult official Coin Hunt sources for current status.

17. Cubieverse

Shihara's LinkedIn lists him as Co-Founder / CEO of Cubieverse from October 2023 to present, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cubieverse is a consumer blockchain/gaming initiative. This profile explains the project simply and does not describe the game as successful or widely adopted without verified metrics. Readers should consult Cubieverse's official channels for current operational status.

18. Tabit Insurance

Crunchbase lists Shihara as Co-Founder of Tabit Insurance. The request's reference to a September 2023 start date could not be fully reconciled with his LinkedIn (which lists Cubieverse from October 2023). This profile presents the Tabit Insurance co-founder role as reported in Crunchbase and notes that official Tabit sources should be consulted for current operational status, regulatory jurisdiction and Shihara's actual responsibilities. This profile does not use LinkedIn alone as final verification.

19. Digital Assets & Insurance

If Tabit's model involves Bitcoin within an insurance capital structure, this would relate to insurance capital, reinsurance, Bitcoin reserves/collateral, digital-asset treasury, insurance risk and regulatory requirements. This profile clearly distinguishes using Bitcoin within an insurance capital structure from providing insurance on Bitcoin itself, and does not imply Bitcoin-backed insurance is risk-free. Readers should consult official Tabit sources for the current model.

20. What Is Bill Shihara Working on Now?

Current Roles (reported): Co-Founder / CEO of Cubieverse (per LinkedIn, Oct 2023 – present); Co-Founder of Tabit Insurance (per Crunchbase).

Previous Roles: Co-Founder & CEO of Bittrex (2014 – pre-2023 wind-down); Manager, Security Engineering at Amazon; roles at Microsoft and BlackBerry (historical biographies).

Historical Founder Projects: Bittrex (2014–2023 closure).

Information checked: August 2026. This does not create a verification badge.

21. Why Bill Shihara Matters in Crypto

His relevance lies in Bittrex, centralized exchange infrastructure, crypto security, token markets, early U.S. crypto trading and later Web3 entrepreneurship. His Bittrex career also became part of an important regulatory case about how centralized crypto exchanges operated under U.S. securities laws. This profile shows both industry contribution and regulatory history, without sanitizing or sensationalizing either side. This profile does not call him the creator of crypto exchanges, Bitcoin inventor, blockchain inventor or founder of cryptocurrency.