Binance Reverses Decision To Delist Privacy Coins In EU

World’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance, has decided to cancel its plan to delist various privacy coins in Europe. The company said this move results from considering feedback from the crypto community and reforming services to comply with local regulations.

In a comment obtained on June 26, Binance said:

“After carefully considering feedback from our community and several projects, we have revised how we classify privacy coins on our platform to comply with EU-wide regulatory requirements.“

Binance said it runs as an exchange in different European Union areas. It is required to comply with local rules. These rules state that exchanges must be able to keep track of transactions of coins listed on their platform.

The company emailed clients in Poland, Spain, France, and Italy. The message stated that it would cease purchasing or selling 12 privacy tokens that allow anonymous transactions. The suspension would take effect from June 26, Binance said.

These coins included Dash, Decred, Horizen, ZEC, PIVX, Navcoin, Verge, Firo, Secret, Beam, MobileCoin, and XMR.

Meanwhile, many tokens went on Twitter to reassure community members after the reversed decision. On June 22, Verge announced that Binance trading restrictions would not affect XVG.

We are pleased to inform you that $XVG will remain unaffected by @binance's trading restrictions on #privacy coins in certain EU countries.

Verge utilizes a public #blockchain with visible transactions, amounts, and wallet addresses. #vergefam #crypto #ISO20022

— VergeCurrency $XVG | XVGETH (@vergecurrency) June 22, 2023

Also, the Secret Network published on Friday that the company will not remove SCRT in European countries. Apart from SCRT and XVG, PIVX, Decred, Dash, Navcoin, and Zcash will reportedly remain listed on Binance.

“Travel Rule” On Crypto Transactions

The EU is working on regulations for crypto assets. On May 31, the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations were officially passed.

These decisions by Binance come after the implementation of MiCA by the EU. Notably, MiCA implements a “travel rule” on cryptocurrency transactions.

The “travel rule” makes crypto service providers need to collect specific information about the crypto sender and receiver. However, this requirement goes against the core principle of privacy-enhancing coins like Monero. Since the beginning, allowing anonymous transactions has been the primary purpose of such tokens.

Binance’s choice to stop supporting these cryptocurrencies is the most recent setback for privacy coins in the EU. Meanwhile, major crypto platforms, including Bittrex, Huobi, and Kraken, had already delisted privacy coins like Dash and Monero. 

Initially, Binance predicted the end of trading for all affected tokens on June 26. A turning point in the decision comes when Verge and Secret announce they are safe from delisting.