Binance has reversed its plan to remove certain privacy coins from its European markets. This decision was made amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny and demands.
Binance had previously planned to stop trading services for 12 privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, including well-known ones like Monero, Dash, and Zcash, as well as lesser-known tokens such as XVG and SCRT. This would have affected users in France, Italy, Spain, and Poland, preventing them from buying or selling these tokens and causing a major upset among European privacy coin enthusiasts.
According to the emails sent to users, the cryptocurrencies BEAM, XMR, MOB, FIRO, and ZEN are still subject to restrictions. Binance wasn’t the only crypto exchange to have delisted privacy coins before. Other exchanges like Kraken, Huobi, and Bittrex had already removed popular privacy coins like Monero and Dash from their offerings.
Outside Europe, in places like Dubai, Japan, and South Korea, the governments have taken a hard stance against privacy coins, with some even implementing outright bans on the trading and issuing of such coins.
Why Binance changed its mind and the regulatory landscape
Binance’s decision to backtrack on its plan to delist privacy coins comes after receiving feedback from the community and reviewing its operations to comply with the regulatory requirements across the European Union. This demonstrates Binance’s readiness to evolve within the ever-changing regulatory environment.
Being a registered exchange in several European Union jurisdictions, Binance is obligated to follow local regulations. These rules require exchanges to monitor transactions involving the coins listed on their platform, a requirement that initially seemed to conflict with the nature of privacy coins.
The move to delist privacy coins was initially triggered by the European Union’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. This regulation, signed into law on May 31, includes a “travel rule” for crypto transactions, which requires more transparency and information sharing. There were concerns that firms trading privacy coins might not be compliant with EU law due to this rule.
However, the MiCA regulations have been largely welcomed by the crypto industry, as they provide clear rules for digital assets. Companies like Ripple, a cryptocurrency payment service provider, have expressed appreciation for this regulatory clarity. The European Securities and Markets Authority is planning to start a MiCA consultation process in July, with the new laws expected to take full effect over an 18-month timeline.
