US-Based ShapeShift Delists Privacy Coins Dash, XMR, & ZEC to ‘Avoid Regulatory Risks’

  • ShapeShift is delisting privacy coins from its exchange
  • Regulatory risks in the U.S. led to the delisting of ZEC, XMR, and DASH

Zcash (ZEC) is the latest privacy-enabled crypto to be delisted from Colorado-based cryptocurrency exchange, ShapeShift. This follows the silent delisting of Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) from the exchange due to regulatory risks.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Veronica McGregor stated the exchange delisted the coins due to the regulatory risks and uncertainties privacy coins hold.

“At least for the moment, we’re not working with those coins,” McGregor said in an interview.

The delisting of ZEC was made public on Tuesday after Decrypt’s report confirmed that Monero (XMR) and Dash (DASH) were delisted on Friday of last week.

The latest delisting shows ShapeShift taking up a more regulatory approach as regulators start paying close attention to privacy-eccentric coins. At launch, the exchange allowed users to trade and swap cryptocurrencies anonymously – allowing users to open trades without any login or account registration.

However, following money laundering claims (which ShapeShift vehemently countered), the exchange started asking users to submit their “know-your-customer” compliance documents in September 2018.

As governments and regulators take into account the FAFT Travel rule, exchanges across the world have taken a hard stance on privacy coins. BitBay and BitOasis announced the delisting of Monero (XMR) from their exchanges in 2019 due to regulatory risks. And South Korea is set to ban the trading of privacy coins.