Kraken to Delist Monero in the European Economic Area

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken will delist Monero (XMR) in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to recent regulatory changes. Starting on October 31, 15:00 PM UTC, Kraken will halt all trading and deposits for Monero, including XMR/USD and XMR/EUR pairs, for clients registered in the EEA. Any open orders will be automatically closed at that time.

Kraken has set December 31 as the final date for XMR withdrawals. After this deadline, any remaining XMR balances will be converted to Bitcoin (BTC) at market rates, with distributions finalized by January 6, 2025.

This decision is part of a broader trend of increasing regulatory scrutiny on privacy coins, which offer enhanced transaction anonymity. Kraken emphasized that while the decision was challenging, it remains committed to supporting a comprehensive set of digital assets in alignment with regulatory and compliance obligations. Earlier in June, Kraken ceased XMR support for customers in Belgium and Ireland.

Regulatory Pressure on Privacy Coins

The delisting of Monero by Kraken mirrors actions taken by other major crypto exchanges such as Binance and OKX. Privacy coins are facing heightened scrutiny due to new regulatory frameworks like the MiCA legislation, which will take effect in December, and updated anti-money laundering (AML) rules. These regulations are compelling crypto service providers to discontinue support for privacy-focused coins.

Patrick Hansen, Circle’s EU strategy and policy director, explained that the new AML regulations prohibit crypto-asset service providers from offering privacy coins and restrict users from making merchant payments with tokens like XMR.

Key Takeaways

  • Kraken will delist Monero in the EEA due to regulatory changes.
  • Trading and deposits for XMR will cease on October 31, 15:00 PM UTC.
  • December 31 is the final date for XMR withdrawals; remaining balances will be converted to BTC by January 6, 2025.
  • Increased regulatory scrutiny is driving the delisting of privacy coins across major exchanges.

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