Slowly but surely, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are removing all privacy-oriented coins. This week alone, two major trading platforms took such a course of action. The latest to do so is Upbit, as it simply complies with the regulations enforced by the South Korean government. An unfavorable rule, but one that needs to be adhered to regardless.
Upbit Brings Down the Hammer
Considering how the South Korean government has taken a harsh stance on privacy coins many months ago, it is a small miracle they can still be traded on some exchanges today. Slowly but surely, that situation is changing, although not necessarily in a way which cryptocurrency enthusiasts will appreciate. That said, there is nothing one can do to change the current regulation, as that is for policymakers to decide.
Following OKEx Korea earlier this week, Upbit has now begun removing all privacy coins. This is not entirely surprising, as the company had launched an official “investigation” into all of these assets in early September of this year. To ensure the coins would comply with domestic FATF guidelines, further research was required. It now seems that research ultimately forced the company to make this unpopular and rather drastic decision.
The Same Coins as Always
On the list of coins to be removed are the same assets as every single time this topic comes around. The currencies include Monero, Dash, ZCash, Haven, and PIVX. One interesting addition is Bittube, a currency which isn’t actively traded on too many exchanges at this time. It is a coin not too many people know about, but for some reason, it appears to violate the FATF guidelines at this time.
All of these currencies will remain accessible on the platform until September 30th. Afterward, all transaction support for these altcoins and assets will be removed entirely. This also seems to confirm users have a very brief window of opportunity to withdraw their funds from the exchange as well. This also seems to confirm no privacy or anonymity currencies will be added to this platform for quite some time to come, which might not be good news for some of the altcoins out there today.
Prices Continue to Fall
As is to be expected, these South Korean exchanges do not offer that much liquidity for most of these privacy coins either. However, that doesn’t mean these delistings have no effect on their individual value and overall market cap. A lot of the affected coins continue to struggle for traction, as both Monero and ZCash have had a tough year so far. The same can be said for PIVX, which is massive struggling for trading volume as well.
As this crackdown on privacy coins continues, one has to wonder how the markets will respond in the months and years to come. While the current “war’ is being waged against privacy coins, it is not unlikely to think the same might apply to other currencies which have nothing to do with anonymity. That in itself would create a very uncomfortable situation, to say the very least.
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