Binance Allegedly Disables Privacy Coin Trading

The world’s top crypto exchange, Binance, will allegedly halt the trading of privacy coins in France next month. Several users received e-mails from the exchange “formally” notifying them about the development. The translated version of the announcement read,

“Due to local regulatory requirements, Binance is no longer able to offer Enhanced Anonymity (“EAC”) crypto-assets (commonly referred to as “privacy coins” in English) in France.“

Binance disables trading of privacy coins for French residents, citing local regulatory requirements

— unfolded. (@cryptounfolded) May 31, 2023

Chalking out the restriction date and tokens involved, Binance’s e-mail notified users,

“From June 26, 2023, users residing in France will no longer be able to buy or sell the following EACs on our platform: DCR, DASH, ZEC, ZEN, PIVX, NAV, SCRT, XVG, FIRO, BEAM, XMR, MOB.”

Also Read: Binance Partners Ingenico for Payment Solutions in France

The Restriction Schedule

According to the announcement, all spot trades and privacy coin deposits “will be blocked” on June 26. Parallelly, pending spot orders “will be automatically closed.” However, users will still be able to withdraw coins. Furthermore, the ‘Convert, EARN and Crypto-Loans’ products will be limited to ‘withdrawal only’ mode. For context, the ‘withdrawal only’ mode allows users to sell or close positions but limits buying and opening new positions with respect to the aforementioned privacy coins. On Sept. 26, all loan positions will be closed, while on Sept. 29, EARN positions with a flexible subscription will be wound up. Finally, on Oct. 26, sales by ‘Convert’ will be blocked.

As of press time, there has been no official announcement publicly released by Binance. However, in the FAQ section on the website, it is clarified that the issuance and trading of privacy coins “may be restricted by law or regulations in some regions.” In fact, the exchange team emphasized,

“Binance is obligated to adhere to local regulations.”

France has been tightening its regulatory screws lately. Just last week, lawmakers agreed on new restrictions for crypto promotion for social media influencers. Alongside, DeFi projects are also under the radar and could be forced to incorporate or prove that they meet governance and security rules and standards. Alongside France, Binance has seemingly placed restrictions in other regions in Europe also. A particular user tweeted,

“Just received an email from Binance stating that, due to local regulations, privacy coins will be banned from trading in Poland starting June 26, 2023, 00:00 CET.”

Chinese Journalist Colin Wu also tweeted about the latest development, citing Ninja News. According to that media house’s report, users from Italy have also received e-mails from Binance stating that the trading of privacy-focused cryptos will be halted.