Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently announced that it has revised its operations to comply with EU standards and will delist several privacy coins. Here are the most important things to know about this development:
1. Compliance with EU regulations: Binance has made changes to its operations in order to comply with the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD), which went into effect in January 2020. This directive requires cryptocurrency exchanges to implement stricter KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) procedures, as well as report suspicious activity to authorities.
2. Delisting of privacy coins: Binance has decided to delist several privacy coins, including Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), and Dash (DASH). These coins are designed to provide users with greater anonymity and privacy when making transactions, but they have also been associated with illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorism financing. Binance stated that it made this decision after carefully considering feedback from the community and several projects.
3. Impact on users: Binance users who hold these delisted coins will have until February 22, 2021 to withdraw them from the exchange. After that date, trading and deposits for these coins will be suspended. However, users will still be able to hold these coins in their Binance wallets.
In summary, Binance’s decision to revise its operations and delist several privacy coins is a response to increasing regulatory scrutiny and concerns about illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space. While this may be a disappointment for some users who value privacy, it is a necessary step towards greater compliance and legitimacy for the industry as a whole.