Bittrex to Delist ‘Privacy Coins’ Monero, Dash and Zcash
Bittrex announced Friday it will be delisting monero (XMR), zcash (ZEC) and dash (DASH), continuing a trend of so-called privacy coins being delisted by cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a release, the exchange said the coins’ markets will be removed on Friday, Jan. 15, at 23:00 UTC.
While Bittrex gave no reason for the removals, exchanges around the world have been moving to delist coins that seek to preserve the privacy of their users as a way to be compliant with know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations that are spreading around the world.
For instance, the U.S. Secret Service has urged Congress to create ways to limit the use of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies.
Dash responded via Tweet, calling the label “privacy coin” a misnomer in its case, saying “From a technical standpoint, Dash’s privacy functionality is no greater than Bitoin’s.” Dash said it’s requesting a meeting with Bittrex’s compliance team in an effort to be reinstated.
Shares of all three coins fell on the news: XMR is down 14.44% to $133.75, ZEC fell 12.28% to $55.76.
UPDATE (Jan. 1, 20:16 UTC): Adds coin price reactions, Dash’s response.
See also: ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coin Zcash Over Regulatory Concerns
