Binance Adds 10 Coins Including Zcash and Monero to “Monitoring” List, Says Delisting Is Possible

Key highlights:

• Binance added 10 new projects to their “monitoring” list, including big names like Monero and Zcash.
• Now normally these coins would just be business as usual, but the monitoring tag is like a bright yellow warning label. It means Binance is watching these coins like a hawk for any compliance issues.
• It’s no surprise privacy coins are drawing extra attention either.

Privacy in cryptocurrency seems to be coming under more scrutiny, as major exchange Binance recently placed 10 additional coins under increased monitoring. In an announcement on January 4th, Binance revealed they would be expanding their “Monitoring Tag” program to encompass assets like Monero, Zcash, and others known for offering anonymity features.

What are monitoring tags?

Binance employs Monitoring Tags as a risk management strategy. Coins given this label exhibit higher than-normal volatility and uncertainty. They face frequent reviews by Binance analysts to ensure ongoing compliance with listing requirements. Crucially, the Monitoring Tag also serves notice – these coins risk eventual delisting if issues arise.

In other words, while still tradeable, Monitoring Tagged coins walk a tighter rope. One slip-up could lead to removal from Binance, eliminating a major source of liquidity. It’s a warning to projects that privacy features may attract unwanted regulatory attention down the line.

#Binance will add the Monitoring tag to more tokens and will remove the Seed tag for selected tokens.

Find the list of tokens below⬇️https://t.co/RkOQisUv7G

— Binance (@binance) January 4, 2024

Which coins joined the watchlist?

On January 4, 2024, Binance revealed it was expanding the Monitoring list to include several new token projects. Most notable were privacy coins Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC), long considered controversial due to their anonymous transaction capabilities. Other additions included Aragon, Firo, Keep3rV1, Mdex, MobileCoin, Reef, Vai, and Horizen.

Interestingly, privacy protocols seem to be a recurring theme. Just a week prior, fellow exchange OKX delisted trading pairs involving XMR, ZEC, and Horizen as well. Privacy features are coming under heavier regulatory fire globally, posing compliance challenges for centralized trading venues.

But innovation often courts controversy, as these projects are learning. Regulators globally ramp up oversight of “anonymity-enhanced currencies.” Exchanges face their own regulatory hurdles in supporting such experiments. While not banning these coins outright, Binance’s expanded monitoring offers a middle ground – sustained scrutiny with delisting as an option if issues emerge.

Users face quizzes to keep trading

To accommodate increased monitoring, Binance users must now pass brief quizzes every 90 days to keep accessing these coins. This ensures all are aware of heightened risks. As privacy offerings develop, exchanges walk a tightrope balancing support for the technology with appeasing watchful regulators. For now, Binance’s soft-handed approach of monitoring rather than banning strikes a balance – but for how long remains uncertain.

With privacy pushing the limits of what’s permissible in crypto, exchanges must carefully consider both technical merit and legal viability. Increased diligence through Monitoring Tags gives Binance greater oversight while leaving the door open for these exploratory projects to continue under a watchful eye. However, regulators may not remain as hands-off over the long run.

In the meantime, those leveraging anonymity on the blockchain would do well to stay on exchanges’ good sides. Stricter policies may loom if compliance becomes a challenge down the road. For now, projects and users alike must accept heightened monitoring as the cost of experimenting with controversial technologies in a regulated market.