LiteBit – a small cryptocurrency exchange based in the Netherlands – announced a few days ago that it would be delisting Firo (also known as zcoin).
It is the latest thread of delistings for privacy coins, with Bithumb, Shapeshift, and other exchanges dropped currencies like Monero recently.
The pressure of the Regulation
The delisting of privacy coin is a result of smaller exchanges not having the legal and financial resources to explain the risk mitigation strategy to banks – which gave the idea that privacy coins are not compliant with the standards, according to Reuben Yap, the Firo project steward.
South Korea and Japan lead the charge of the delisting of privacy coins. Besides the countries above, exchanges from Australia have also undergone significant pressure from banks, forcing many exchanges to delist, even if the people behind it may disagree with the policy.
The CEO of Swyftx, Alex Harper, criticized the pressure by banks regarding privacy coins.
“While we do not fully align with the hard-line response of banning all privacy-related coins, we will continue to work proactively with our partners and regulators to reduce criminal activity and advance the crypto industry in the most effective ways.”
In the European continent, where privacy is a more considerable concern, specific countries like France and the Netherlands – have also been recommending a ban on the privacy coins.
Nevertheless, Reuben Yap is still optimistic about the future of privacy coins.
“Privacy coins will continue to face opposition and challenges along the way, which will heat up as cryptocurrencies start becoming more mainstream. However, just as VPNs, Tor, HTTPS, and end-to-end encrypted messaging are now considered standard protection tools, privacy technology in cryptocurrencies will be considered commonplace, too.”
Meanwhile, the conflict about privacy coins is still limited to smaller exchanges – but because of the nature of privacy coins and their fans, the end of privacy coins seems impossible.
No Comment