Monero Plummets Following Major Crypto Exchange Delisting, Are More Losses Imminent?

On February 6, Monero (XMR), a privacy and security-focused token, saw its price drop after Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges, announced its delisting in the following weeks alongside another three tokens.

Binance recently announced the delisting and cease of all trading activity of Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), Vai (VAI), and Monero (XMR) starting on February 20, 2024, at 03:00 (UTC). The decision came after Binance’s most recent review, which determined that the platform could no longer support the tokens.

Following the review of digital assets in the exchange, Binance revealed its resolution to delist these tokens, affirming that they no longer met the exchange’s standards. Some of the factors the decision was based on include “evidence of unethical or fraudulent conduct or negligence” and “contribution to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem.”

Binance has announced the removal of Monero’s trading pairs, including XMR/BNB, XMR/BTC, XMR/ETH, and XMR/USDT, from the platform. All trade orders will be automatically removed once the trading ceases.

Additionally, any XMR deposit done after February 21, 2024, at 03:00 (UTC), won’t be credited to the user’s accounts, and withdrawals of XMR will be supported until May 20, 2024. Binance also informed that XMR tokens may be converted into stablecoins on behalf of users after the withdrawal deadline, although it “is not guaranteed.”

A plunge in Monero’s price immediately followed the announcement. According to data from CoinGecko, XMR went from trading at $165 before the announcement to $148 in the following 30 minutes. Since then, the token has continued to dive lower, trading at $111,85 at writing time, accounting for a 32.7% drop in the last 24 hours.

The crypto community received the news with concerns. Several users questioned the reasons for Monero’s delisting and expressed disappointment in the exchange’s decision.

The team behind Monero shared on its X account (formerly known as Twitter) that the delisting comes after Binance’s new requirement. The crypto exchange stated that deposits must come from a “publicly transparent address, which Monero doesn’t allow.”

The delisting is happening because Binance is now requiring that deposits come from a publicly transparent address. Monero has used stealth addresses for ALL addresses since it’s launch in April 2014

Monero allows selective disclosure with view keys but not a transparent address

— Monero (XMR) (@monero) February 6, 2024

Crypto Trader John Brown shared his thoughts on XMR’s delisting from the exchange on his X account, saying that, although it’s a negative situation for Monero, this is mostly a “negative sign for Binance” due to his belief that the exchange is “so compliant” that they no longer can choose the assets to support.

Monero dropped strongly on the delisting news from Binance.

While bad for Monero, I mainly see this delisting as a sign of the slow demise of Binance. They are now "so compliant" that they cannot choose anymore which assets to 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 the charges of Anti-Money Laundering, Unlicensed Money Transmitting, and Sanctions Violations.