Binance recently announced that it will close 12 privacy coins like Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) for trading in the French region. Now, some of these projects are reacting to Binance’s delisting decision.
Binance’s delist decision draws backlash
The leading exchange announced in an e-mail to its users in France, Italy, Poland and Spain on May 31 that 12 privacy coins will now cease trading in these regions. According to the official statement, the transactions will end on June 26.
Shortly after that, the Secret (SCRT), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH) teams are starting to react to the decision. A Dash representative denounced the project’s labeling as a privacy-only cryptocurrency. He insisted that Dash was actually a “true fork of Bitcoin.” He stated that all Dash transactions are fully transparent and auditable on the Blockchain as well.
Il ne sera plus possible d'accéder aux privacy coins via Binance. pic.twitter.com/ZoiAsHiYuG
— La Baleine Crypto 🐳 (@BaleineFR) May 31, 2023
According to the Dash representative, Bitcoin has more privacy features. Dash, on the other hand, only has optional, unattended Coinjoin in two wallets on its network. Coinjoin is an optional tool used to increase privacy in transactions. It currently only accounts for 0.4% of Dash transactions.
The representative adds that he will be working with Binance to relist Dash and further train the exchange compliance team on the facts.
SCRT Labs says Secret is not a privacy coin
“SCRT is not a privacy coin,” said Guy Zyskind, CEO of SCRT Labs. Zyskind stated that transactions on the network are public, adding that the data under its smart contract is confidential.
Meanwhile, Zyskind noted that despite the “over-scrutiny” these networks face, privacy will play an active role in helping Web3 gain traction in mainstream markets. According to him, the network is optimistic that more people will understand the importance of these projects.
This is the stupidest thing Europe could do. You cant pretend you care about privacy and ban it at the same time. https://t.co/WjkRWXaANI
— Rand Hindi (@randhindi) June 1, 2023
SCRT Labs is the founding core development team behind Secret Network. He added that the team reached out to Binance to clarify any misunderstandings about the token’s labeling.
Electric Coin says Binance’s decision poses risk to individual privacy
Electric Coin Co., a company that spearheaded the development of Zcash, showed its reaction on Twitter on May 31:
This Binance decision to delist Zcash and other cryptocurrencies in France, Italy, Poland and Spain poses a direct and imminent threat to the privacy and security of individuals, families, businesses, communities and entire nations.
The @Binance decision to delist Zcash and other cryptocurrencies in France, Italy, Poland, and Spain poses a direct and imminent threat to the privacy and security of individuals, families, businesses, communities, and entire nations.
— Electric Coin Co. (@ElectricCoinCo) May 31, 2023
Electric Coin said it suspects Binance has delisted Zcash due to regulatory pressure from the European Union and the official signing of the Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) regulation. According to the crypto firm, the language of MiCA is unclear. It also only applies to a few companies, decentralized organizations, cryptocurrencies and apps.
The tweet continues, “To the best of our knowledge, Zcash complies with all other laws and regulations in the EU, including the Travel Rule and the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.”
Binance has now closed these privacy coins to European countries
cryptocoin.comHere is the list of privacy coins that will be closed to transactions in selected European countries as of June 26:
- Secret (SCRT)
- Verge (XVG)
- Firo (FIRO/Zcoin)
- Beam (BEAM)
- Monero (XMR)
- MobilinkToken (MOB)
- Decred (DCR)
- Dash (DASH)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- Horizon (ZEN)
- PIVX (PIVX)
- NavCoin (NAV)
