OKX disabled the deposit of XMR, DASH, ZEC, and ZEN, among other privacy-related coins.
Beginning March 5, 2024, OKX will also halt the withdrawal of XMR, DASH, ZEC, and ZEN.
At the beginning of 2024, OKX, a global cryptocurrency exchange, will remove support for a number of privacy coins. The delisting of certain trading pairs including key privacy tokens, Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), Monero (XMR) and Horizen (ZEN), as well as partially private coins, was formally announced by OKX on December 29.
According to the notice, on January 5, 2024, the OKX exchange will delist eleven trading pairings that include those tokens. Furthermore, on December 27th, OKX disabled the ability to deposit XMR, DASH, ZEC, and ZEN, among other privacy-related coins. Beginning March 5, 2024, OKX will also halt the withdrawal of XMR, DASH, ZEC, and ZEN.
The exchange stated:
“We will continue to monitor all listed trading pairs and implement the delisting/hiding mechanism as necessary.”
Rising Regulatory Scrutiny
Among the 482 trading pairings listed by OKX as of this writing are four involving Monero, two involving DASH, three involving ZEC, and two using ZEN.
Not only has OKX delisted or attempted to delist privacy or privacy-related tokens in the past, but it has now joined a number of exchanges in making the announcement. In September 2022, cryptocurrency exchange Huobi revealed their intentions to delist seven coins associated with privacy, referencing their attempts to comply with token management policies.
In May 2023, Binance declared its intention to delist all privacy tokens in certain countries, including France and Italy, but in June of the same year, it changed its mind.
Government agencies across the globe are voicing worries about the possible use of privacy coins for illegal activities such as money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist funding, because of the difficulty for law enforcement authorities to track operations involving anonymous transactions.