Monero, Zcash, Other Privacy Coins Under Fire as Binance Hints Delisting

The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, has hinted that they may be on the verge of delisting several popular privacy tokens, including Monero (XMR) and Horizen (ZEN). The industry giants have come under increased scrutiny over the past 12 months amid the SEC tightening the screws and accusing Binance’s CEO of facilitating fraud and illegal transactions. 

Binance Users Must Take Quiz to Trade Privacy Crypto

According to an announcement made by Binance yesterday, the exchange will now require its traders to complete a targeted quiz that ensures they are “aware of the risks” of using these cryptocurrencies. The exchange has added a “monitoring tag” to such assets, which will see them subject to regular critical reviews that may ultimately lead to their delisting. Some of the prominent coins flagged include:

• Monero (XMR)
• Aragon (ANT)
• Horizen (ZEN)
• Zcash (ZEC)
• Firo (FIRO)

Several of these cryptocurrencies have already been banned from trading in certain sovereign states due to their association with criminal activity. The news comes due to increased pressure from US regulators like the SEC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to tackle illegal behaviour among the crypto sphere.

What Are Privacy Coins?

A key pillar of Bitcoin’s blockchain is that it is public. While fearmongering media outlets have often associated BTC with criminal activity, the reality is the blockchain’s framework is readily available to anybody savvy enough to navigate a block explorer. That means illegal transactions can easily be traced by cybersecurity outlets and other relevant authorities.  

Privacy coins, however, live up to their moniker by providing users with private transactions. Most of these blockchains are still public, however, the network inputs an encryption system that wraps each transaction so that recipient addresses are anonymous (or temporary) and transfer details inaccessible.

While this may seem like a haven for criminal activity, there are legitimate use cases for such assets. Basic cyber hygiene is becoming more important in the current state of internet surveillance, which is a key driving force for many users. Other functions include hiding business transactions from competitors.

Privacy networks are often steadfast in maintaining privacy (as they probably should be), no matter the cost. This means attempts to compromise with them are often pretty straightforward.