Monero, a major cryptocurrency known for its focus on privacy, has experienced a significant drop in value following the announcement by Binance that it will be delisted from its platform. Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, revealed on February 6 that it will be delisting Monero (XMR) along with other tokens such as Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), and Vai (VAI) on February 20, 2024.
As a result of this delisting, Binance will remove all trading pairs involving Monero, including those against Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Binance’s native coin, BNB (BNB). The announcement states that all trade orders will be automatically removed once trading ceases for each respective trading pair. It also mentions that withdrawals of these tokens will not be supported after May 20, 2024.
After May 21, users may still be able to convert the delisted XMR into stablecoins, but Binance has made it clear that this conversion is not guaranteed. The exchange will provide a separate notification before the conversion, if applicable, and the stablecoins will be credited to users’ Binance accounts after the conversion.
The decision to delist Monero is based on several factors, including its contribution to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem, evidence of unethical or fraudulent conduct or negligence, and responsiveness to Binance’s periodic due diligence requests.
Following the announcement of the delisting, the price of Monero experienced a sharp decline. According to data from TradingView, XMR dropped to a low of $136 on Binance at 9:21 am UTC, losing nearly 19% of its value in just a few hours. Since then, the price has slightly recovered, with XMR currently trading at $140.30.
It is worth noting that Binance is not the only exchange to delist Monero. OKX, another cryptocurrency exchange, had previously announced its plans to delist Monero and another privacy-focused coin, Zcash (ZEC), on January 5, 2024.
Some online commentators speculate that the delisting could also have negative implications for Binance. Cryptocurrency trader John Brown expressed this sentiment, stating that he sees the delisting as a sign of the slow decline of Binance.
Binance has faced ongoing pressure from global regulators, particularly following the guilty plea of its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, to breaking Anti-Money Laundering and sanctions laws in late 2023. In addition, Binance.US was reportedly banned from operating in Florida and Alaska in late January. Zhao, who was unable to travel to his home in the United Arab Emirates, is scheduled to be sentenced in the U.S. on February 23, 2024, and could face up to 18 months in prison.
Overall, the delisting of Monero from Binance marks a significant development in the cryptocurrency market, with potential implications for both Monero and the exchange itself.