The prices of some privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, including Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR), dropped yesterday after the cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced on December 29th that they would delist them on January 5th because they did not meet the exchange’s standards.
Data from Coinmarketcap shows that the entire “privacy crypto” sector witnessed a collective 3.4% decline, impacting the broader cryptocurrency market. Major privacy tokens like Monero and Zcash decreased by 2.4% and 9.37%, respectively.
Other tokens delisted by OKX, including Dash, Powerpool, and Horizen, saw declines of up to 14% in the reporting period.
OKX stated:
“We will delist the trading pairs mentioned above at the times mentioned above. We advise users to cancel orders related to these trading pairs before delisting. Otherwise, the system will automatically cancel these orders.”
Furthermore, OKX temporarily halted deposits for the affected cryptocurrencies and plans to stop withdrawals before March 5, 2024, allowing asset holders enough time to withdraw their holdings. However, after the delisting process is complete, trading these digital assets will become infeasible.
Interestingly, some privacy tokens like MINA are still listed on the exchange, and they saw a 7.5% increase in price following this delisting announcement.
WHY DID OKX DELIST PRIVACY TOKENS?
While OKX has not provided explicit details about the exact reasons behind its decision, observers speculate that this move may be influenced by their efforts to comply with regulatory measures.
Privacy tokens have come under the scrutiny of regulatory authorities due to concerns about their potential use in illegal activities within the cryptocurrency space.
Earlier this year, Binance announced that they would delist certain privacy tokens to comply with local laws and regulations.