Binance suspends Monero withdrawals a day before delisting XMR

On February 20, Binance concluded the delisting of Monero (XMR), as previously announced and reported by Finbold. The day before the delisting was tumultuous for the leading privacy coin. 

Interestingly, Binance customers reported the centralized exchange suddenly suspended Monero withdrawals on February 19, raising concerns about the company’s motives. A print screen shared on X (formerly Twitter) showed a working deposit system for XMR and the suspension warning:

“Monero (XMR): Withdrawal suspended. Low hot wallet balance”

In this context, the privacy enthusiast and commentator under the pseudonym Untraceable questioned Binance’s operation and motives. He pointed out that the exchange should have all XMR available for withdrawals following its delisting schedule to avoid mass selling.

According to the announcement, Binance customers will have until May 20, 2024, to withdraw any Monero left on the platform.

Monero price analysis amid delisting and withdrawal suspension

Meanwhile, a sell-off indeed happened on February 19, and Monero reached its all-time low against Bitcoin (BTC). XMR traded as low as 0.002100 BTC on Kraken, another centralized exchange and an alternative to Binance.

On the other hand, Monero is holding the $120 price range against the U.S. Dollar. Notably, XMR has kept its range since the delisting announcement on February 6. Trading as low as $101 following a massive sell-off and as high as $134.84 the day after.

The XMR/USD index by TradingView registers a price of $119.72 by press time.

As of writing, Binance has already delisted and disabled Monero trading and deposits on the platform. Some privacy enthusiasts celebrated the event, arguing that this will boost privacy and true price discovery moving forward.

However, losing the most liquid market is a challenge XMR has to overcome in the short term to prove its resilience. Furthermore, other trading platforms and fiat ramps may decide to follow Binance’s lead, removing Monero.

Thus, there is currently much uncertainty related to the future of this leading privacy coin, and investors must be cautious. Further development and solutions like decentralized exchanges will play a vital role in Monero’s future amid centralized exchanges’ delistings.

Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.