Binance Targets Privacy Coins for Delisting in Four European Countries – What’s Going On?

Binance Regulation

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Fredrik Vold

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Fredrik Vold

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October 22, 2023

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Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is planning to delist a number of privacy coins for users in Spain, France, Italy and Poland.

The coins that will be delisted are all privacy-focused coins that are designed to make it difficult for third-parties to trace transactions and get information about wallet balances.

The coins that will be delisted include Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), Decred (DCR), Horizen (ZEN), Verge (XVG), Dash (DASH), Secret (SCRT), Firo (FRO), Navcoin (NAV), PIVX (PIVX), Mobilecoin (MOB) and BEAM (BEAM).

The coins will no longer be available for trading for users from the four countries starting from June 26, 2023.

In an email sent out to French Binance users, the exchange said it would no longer offer the coins for trading due to local regulations, according to screenshots posted on Twitter:

Il ne sera plus possible d'accéder aux privacy coins via Binance. pic.twitter.com/ZoiAsHiYuG

— La Baleine Crypto 🐳 (@BaleineFR) May 31, 2023

It is unclear whether the delisting is related to the implementation of the EU’s new MiCA regulatory framework for crypto, which was signed into law on Wednesday, and whether it will affect users from more European countries later.

In the past, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has said his exchange will make the necessary adjustments “to be in a position of full compliance” with MiCA by the time the law enters into effect.

Privacy coins have long been under pressure from governments and regulators around the world who fear that they can be used for various illicit purposes.

As recently as in February this year, Dubai’s virtual asset regulator also banned the use of all “Anonymity-Enhanced Cryptocurrencies,” including popular coins like Monero and Zcash, within the emirate.