In my opinion: yes! I did not know BTC-Alpha until I saw the exchange vote for BTCZ. I instantly recognized that they are using the same software as WEX (formerly known as BTC-e). It looks like they only changed the websites stylesheet.

BTC-e (now WEX) is the oldest exchange out there (up since 2011) and NEVER got hacked. The API is great, they handled every DDOS attack well, the support is ok and you can trade Coins for USD without verification! BTC-e was shut down by the FBI, because one of the admins might have something to do with Mt.Gox robbery. Everyone thought that the guys from BTC-e will ran away with the coins - but they did not. The opened WEX just a few weeks later. And they are still paying back the money to their customers. In the end, no one will have lost a single dollar, despite the FBI probably still having all their fiat money.

I think the BTC-e team just split up. Some of then opened WEX with all the old customers and the others opened BTC-Alpha.

I am using BTC-e since Jan. 2013 and its by far the best exchange out there! They do not add every shit coin, but just those, which are here to stay. So far, only Feathercoin is the only coin that got to BTC-e and failed (delisted in 2014 I think). If there is a lot of trading volume for BTCZ on BTC-Alpha, then WEX might list our coin for free. And that's gonna be huge!