Binance announced in May that it would delist so-called “privacy coins” such as Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and others in several countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Poland. The decision underscored the reality that some companies might step over their own feet to ban privacy tech — even where it is legal — out of a combination of risk aversion and compliance confusion.
Some Monero users have long advocated for keeping their tokens off exchanges, emphasizing that on-exchange transactions undermine user privacy by requiring personal identification data. And yet listing privacy coins on exchanges has its merits: It facilitates new user adoption, bolsters liquidity and contributes to price momentum.
J.W. Verret is an associate professor at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. He is a practicing crypto forensic accountant and also practices securities law at Lawrence Law LLC. He is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Advisory Council and a former member of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee. He also leads the Crypto Freedom Lab, a think tank fighting for policy change to preserve freedom and privacy for crypto developers and users.