By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 25th, 2024
Crypto exchange Binance said that it decided to delist XMR and other coins as they do not meet their requirements or the industry changes.
The Monero (XMR) price has come crashing down by 17% after Binance announced delisting the privacy coin, along with a handful of others. In their blog post on Tuesday, February 6, Binance said that Monero will no longer be trading XMR coins after February 20.
Thus, the crypto exchange will delist all four trading pairs XMR/USDT, XMR/BTC, XMR/BNB, and XMR/ETH. Furthermore, on February 20, all trading orders will be automatically removed once trading concludes for each respective trading pair. In its official blog post, Binance wrote:
“When a coin or token no longer meets this standard, or the industry changes, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it. We believe this best protects all our users.”
Following the announcement, the price of XMR plummeted by 17% and is presently trading at $138.00, as per CoinGecko data. With a market capitalization of $2.6 billion, it stands as the most substantial asset among those slated for delisting.
The recent development comes at a time when crypto exchange Binance has been facing tough regulatory scrutiny. In June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao, alleging that the cryptocurrency exchange misled customers, and neglected to prevent US investors from using Binance.com.
The regulator also accused them of diverting funds to separate investment funds owned by Zhao, and functioned as an unregistered exchange. Additionally, the SEC identified 12 tokens listed on the exchange as securities, among them BNB and BUSD.
Other Altcoins Delisted from Binance
The additional coins set for delisting by Binance comprise Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), and Vai (VAI).
Aragon functions as a platform for creating and managing decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) without the need for coding. It enables users to distribute tokens, establish governance rules, and authorize wallets for voting purposes. Vai serves as the native token of the Venus Protocol, a decentralized platform for issuing stablecoins.
Multichain came into the limelight last year when approximately $126 million worth of assets disappeared abruptly. Subsequently, blockchain analysis firms suggested potential insider involvement. Chinese authorities later confirmed the detention of the CEO, leaving the remaining team without access to the protocol due to the absence of the executive.
Binance cited various reasons for delisting these tokens, including concerns regarding trading volume and liquidity, public communication, stability and security, and indications of unethical or fraudulent behavior.