Coincheck will delist Monero and three others cryptocurrencies deemed to grant too much anonymity to holders under orders from the Japanese FSA.
Japan’s FSA Bans Monero, Zcash, Dash and Augur
According to Sputnik Coincheck has confirmed rumors that they will be removing Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), Dash and Augur’s Reputation (REP) coin from trading on its exchange by June 18 in accordance with Japan’s Financial Services Agency’s new policy which aims at banning cryptocurrencies that offer significant anonymity. The exchange has reported that any of the banned cryptocurrencies remaining in users wallets after June 18 will be converted to Japanese Yen at the market rate.
Coincheck has had a raucous 2018 already; being the target of the second largest ever cryptocurrency heist in January when they lost approximately $530 million of traders money which they then struggled to pay back from their own coffers. The hack brought them under heavy scrutiny by the FSA, circumstances that may have led to them being acquired by Monex and now this ban.
The FSA re-structured its regulatory measures on exchanges after the Coincheck hack to enforce more transparency in the crypto market. A ban on tokens that offer high levels of privacy and anonymity coming under their axe is of little surprise as they continue to search for the tokens stolen from Coincheck that seem to have been moved from wallet to wallet as anonymously as possible.
Coincheck Adheres to FSA Ban
Monero has been among the top ten cryptocurrencies and is enormously popular in Japan but has garnered criticism for being the new crypto for criminals mostly due to it being favored by drive-by miners. The FSA has established the ban as a way to crack down on digital currency it sees as useful for money laundering and other nefarious enterprises.
In the wake of the January hack, Coincheck suspended all withdrawals which it has been lifting since on a coin by coin basis. In a bid to regain customer trust they have been promoting zero-fee trading since March. The exchange has also claimed the right to deny any transaction being made without a valid reason and has imposed new verification standards for all users. Still, Coincheck announced it will “drastically review” its own controls and continue to comply with regulations from the FSA in order to strengthen its efforts against the exchange being used to support any criminal or terrorist activity.
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