Binance has announced that it will delist a dozen privacy coins in several EU countries. However, the cryptocurrency exchange partially backed down from this decision. Thus, seven privacy-focused altcoins managed to avoid being unlisted.
Binance to terminate privacy coin trading in light of MiCA regulation
In May, Binance sent an email to customers in France, Italy, Spain, and Poland. In the message, it stated that it will stop offering trading services for 12 cryptocurrencies that allow anonymous transactions. This has affected major privacy coins like Monero, Dash, and Zcash. Meanwhile, among the altcoins to be de-listed were lesser-known tokens such as XVG and SCRT.
The decision comes after the European Union passed the Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) regulation. MiCA introduces a significant “rule of travel” to crypto transactions. Therefore, it causes the trading of privacy coins to fall against EU law. The travel rule requires crypto-asset service providers to collect certain information about the sender and receiver of crypto transfers. However, this requirement goes against the core ethos of privacy-enhancing coins like Monero. Because from the very beginning, enabling anonymous transactions was the main purpose of such tokens.
Binance’s decision to end support for such cryptocurrencies only marks the final blow for privacy coins advocates in Europe. As you follow on Kriptokoin.com, major exchanges such as Kraken, Huobi and Bittrex have previously removed cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Dash. Elsewhere, authorities in places like Dubai, Japan, and South Korea have been more explicit about their crackdown on crypto, which increases anonymity. Governments in these countries have taken action to ban privacy coins altogether. Accordingly, they explicitly forbade their trade and export.
Seven altcoins that survived delisting
Binance initially said that it will cease trading of all affected tokens from June 26. But this week, the teams behind The Verge and Secret reported that they’ve survived the delisting spree. On Thursday, The Verge stated that XVG will not be affected by Binance’s trading restrictions on privacy coins. Meanwhile, Secret Network shared on Friday that Binance will not delist SCRT in European countries. With the latest development, Decred (DCR), Navcoin (NAV), Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH) and PIVX will continue to be listed on the exchange, as well as XVG and SCRT.
Why did Binance make a U-turn?
Important questions arise as Binance reassesses the compliance risks of seven privacy-enhancing coins. So, what caused the U-turn? And why are some privacy coins accepted while others are not?
One answer might be that the likes on Monero are privacy coins throughout. However, other affected tokens offer a variety of uses. For example, Monero has always been about enabling anonymous transactions. However, he has recently highlighted the Secret Network (SCRT)’s function as a smart contracts platform. From this perspective, technology is less about hiding the trail of money. Instead, Secret Network focuses on on-chain storage of users’ sensitive data.
However, for those who support the right to buy and use privacy coins, financial transaction records fall within the scope of personal data. That’s why they argue that tools for anonymizing transactions are just as important as other data protection tools. From this perspective, Binance’s latest decision offers a glimmer of hope for the technology. Privacy advocates argue that such tokens help secure financial freedom in the face of government surveillance.
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