Kraken has announced its decision to end support for Monero (XMR) in the European Economic Area (EEA) by the end of October, according to an Oct. 1 statement.
The exchange explained that this decision was due to the recent regulatory shifts in the region.
Due to this, the platform stated:
“On October 31 2024 at 15:00 PM UTC, we will halt trading and deposits of all XMR markets (XMR/USD, XMR/EUR, XMR/BTC, XMR/USDT) for clients registered in the EEA. Any open XMR orders will also be automatically closed at this time.”
However, users holding Monero will have until Dec. 31, 2024, to withdraw their assets. Any unclaimed Monero after this deadline will be automatically converted to Bitcoin. These converted funds will be distributed to users who haven’t withdrawn their Monero by Jan. 6, 2025.
Meanwhile, this move isn’t Kraken’s first action against Monero in the region. A few months ago, the exchange delisted the asset in Ireland and Belgium, though the reasons for these earlier actions were not disclosed.
Riccardo Spagni, a well-known blockchain analyst, argued that Monero’s removal in Europe likely reflects Chainalysis‘ inability to extract meaningful tracking data from the asset. According to Spagni, if Monero could be effectively traced, regulators would likely prefer to keep it on exchanges as a potential surveillance tool.
Recently, a leaked video from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis sparked debate about Monero’s true privacy features. The now-deleted video suggested that Monero transactions could be traced, raising concerns over the integrity of its privacy protections.
XMR declines 5%
News of Kraken delisting has significantly impacted the value of digital assets, which declined by more than 5% during the past day to $144, according to CryptoSlate’s data.
This price performance mirrors a broader market trend that has pushed the value of Bitcoin and other top digital assets down during the reporting period. Market observers have linked this downtrend to the escalating Middle East tensions.
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