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Coincheck to Delist Privacy Coins Monero, Zcash, and Dash

Last Updated March 4, 2021 5:07 PM
Josiah Wilmoth
Last Updated March 4, 2021 5:07 PM

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck will delist trading pairs for privacy-centric cryptocurrencies monero (XMR), zcash (ZEC), and dash (DASH) next month.

The Tokyo-based exchange, which was purchased by brokerage firm Monex following a high-profile January hack that saw the platform lose $530 million in NEM tokens (XEM), announced on Friday that it will no longer facilitate trading for these cryptocurrencies, which provide their users with the ability to make transactions that are less traceable than those made with bitcoin and most other blockchain-based coins.

Coincheck said that it came to the decision to cease support for these cryptocurrencies following a “drastic review” of its internal control system and as part of a new “management strategy that thoroughly protects customers.” It is “not appropriate,” the firm said, to deal with these currencies, as they present risks to the firm’s ability to maintain compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

As CCN.com reported, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) — the regulatory agency that licenses cryptocurrency trading platforms to operate in the country — is rumored to be pressuring exchanges to delist privacy coins.

Coincheck, whose FSA license was pending at the time of the record-setting hack in January, was acquired by Monex in part because its former owners were said to be unable to abide by the business improvement order that the FSA issued to it following the theft. Consequently, the move to delist these privacy coins could be interpreted as an attempt by the new management to bring the platform back into the FSA’s good graces.

Augur’s reputation token (REP), which will be the native asset of the startup’s prediction market, will be delisted as well, perhaps due to its perceived association with unlicensed gambling.

Traders have until June 18 to withdraw their XRM, DASH, ZEC, and REP. Coins that are not withdrawn will be sold at market price and converted into JPY, which will then be credited to customer accounts.

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