South Korea's Upbit Becomes Latest Exchange to Delist Privacy Coins
Upbit support for monero, dash, zcash and others will end Monday, Sept. 30.
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/HDJ57SBPBZD65L2S4YZ3H6NXRY.jpg)
Another cryptocurrency exchange has delisted a slew of privacy coins following recent regulatory requirements from the international body the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Upbit announced its investigation of the 6 coins at the beginning of September. The exchange was determining if the privacy coins met the requirements listed by the FATF guidance issued last June.
Generally speaking, privacy coins conduct transactions on public ledgers without exposing an individual's address or identity. Other exchanges have begun delisting the coins as well, such as Coinbase and zcash this summer in the UK or other Korean exchange OKEX dropping five privacy coins earlier this month.
Writing on a company blog, Upbit said money laundering and the possibility of inflows of privacy coins to the exchange were the leading reasons for delisting.
"There are also crypto-assets that can selectively utilize anonymity features among projects that are subject to end of transaction support. For these crypto-asset, Upbit has only supported transparent withdrawal/deposit support.
Nevertheless, the decision to end trading support for the crypto-asset was also made to block the possibility of money laundering and inflow from external networks. Upbit will continue to consider crypto-asset that represent anonymity functions as candidates for designation of investment warning crypto-asset."
Recent exchange delistings have been blamed for flailing privacy coin prices. According to Messari, zcash's price has dropped over 50 percent since July 1 joined by monero, down near 20 percent over the same period.
Still, exchange delistings and price drops haven't necessarily slowed privacy coin tech development. This past month, zcash's Electric Coin Company released Halo, a new zk-SNARK which can verify an entire blockchain in one proof.
Lock image via Shutterstock
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.