On Feb. 6, privacy and security-focused token Monero (XMR) saw its price fall after Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced it would delist it along with three other tokens within the coming weeks.
Monero (XMR) is scheduled to be delisted this month
Binance recently announced that it will delist and cease all trading activity for Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), Vai (VAI), and Monero (XMR) effective February 20, 2024 at 3:00 AM UTC. This decision was made after Binance's latest review determined that the platform can no longer support these tokens.
Binance revealed its decision to delist the tokens, acknowledging that they no longer meet the exchange's standards following a review of the exchange's digital assets. Factors that led to the decision included “evidence of unethical or fraudulent conduct or negligence” and “contribution to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem.”
Binance has announced that it will be removing Monero trading pairs from its platform, including XMR/BNB, XMR/BTC, XMR/ETH, and XMR/USDT. Once trading is suspended, all trading orders will be automatically deleted.
Additionally, any XMR deposits made after 3:00 AM UTC on February 21, 2024 will not be credited to users' accounts, and XMR withdrawals will be supported until May 20, 2024. Binance also announced that XMR tokens may be converted into stablecoins on users' behalf after the withdrawal deadline, but “this is not guaranteed.”
Binance faces criticism over delisting news
Monero's price plummeted immediately after the announcement, with XMR dropping from $165 before the announcement to $148 in the 30 minutes following it, according to data from CoinGecko. The token continued to fall thereafter, trading at $111.85 at the time of writing, a 32.7% drop in the past 24 hours.
The crypto community reacted to the news with concern, with several users questioning the reason for Monero's delisting and expressing disappointment with the exchange's decision.
The Monero team shared on their X account (formerly Twitter) that the delisting was in accordance with new requirements from Binance, which state that deposits must come from “publicly visible, transparent addresses, which are not allowed on Monero.”
The reason for the delisting is that Binance now requires that deposits be made from public, transparent addresses, whereas Monero has used stealth addresses for all of its cryptocurrencies since its launch in April 2014.
Monero allows selective disclosure by viewkey but not transparent addresses
— Monero (XMR) (@monero) February 6, 2024
Crypto trader John Brown shared his thoughts on the XMR delisting on his X account, stating that while this is a negative situation for Monero, it is primarily a “negative sign for Binance” as he believes the exchange has become “too compliant” to choose which assets it supports.
Monero fell sharply following the news of Binance's delisting.
While it's bad for Monero, I see this delisting primarily as a sign of the slow decline of Binance, who are now “so compliant” that they no longer get to choose which assets they support.
— John Brown (@john_j_brown) February 6, 2024
Last year, Binance and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, faced regulatory scrutiny after pleading guilty in the United States to anti-money laundering, unauthorized transmission and sanctions violations.
Monero (XRM) is trading at $114,9 on the hourly chart. Source: XMRUSDT on TradingView.com
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from Tradingview.com
