A ‘monitoring tag’ has been added to a list of crypto tokens by crypto exchange Binance, which also includes some privacy coins.
Zcash (ZEC), Monero (XMR), Firo (FIRO), and Horizen (ZEN) are some of the tokens that have been added to the list.
The announcement
Binance said in an announcement that the monitoring tag has been added to tokens that show considerably higher volatility and risks as compared to the other tokens listed on the exchange.
It also added that these tokens were at risk of not meeting the listing criteria of the exchange anymore and could be delisted.
It went on to say that the tokens that have a monitoring tag will be regularly reviewed. The criteria used during the reviews include liquidity, trading volume, and network security and stability.
The exchange said that the tokens also contribute to a sustainable and healthy crypto ecosystem and should be responsive to their periodic requests for diligence.
Users who wish to trade the tokens that have the monitoring tag, they have to first pass a quiz to ensure they understand the risks.
The crypto exchange clarified that the other services that are related to the tokens with the monitoring tag remain unaffected, which also applies to trading.
The monitoring tag
Some of the other tokens that have also been marked with the monitoring tag include Keep3rV1 (KP3R), Reef (REEF), Aragon (ANT), Mdex (MDX), Vai (VAI) and MobileCoin (MOB).
Reuben Yap, the co-founder of Firo, said that the monitoring tag has been applied to Firo and other tokens due to compliance with Binance’s settlement with the DOJ,
Likewise, other initiatives from US regulators and increased regulatory pressure, including from MiCA, were also responsible.
He also revealed that they had been involved in active discussions with Binance regarding this matter since September last year.
He further added that they had received a positive response from Binance on its proposal to use Exchange Addresses.
This tool has been designed to help exchanges in managing regulatory compliance while protecting the privacy of their users.
Privacy coins
Crypto tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum have public ledgers and use pseudonymous wallet addresses. This makes it possible to trace a transaction if a user of an address is identified.
Privacy tokens, on the other hand, use cryptographic techniques for shielding identifying information from transactions, enabling users to conduct anonymous transactions.
In some regions, Binance has faced issues in listing privacy tokens. In May last year, the exchange announced that some privacy tokens would be delisted in Spain, Poland, Italy, and France.
These included tokens like Horizen, Zcash, and Monero. The crypto exchange then ended up backtracking on various affected crypto tokens a month later.
But, some privacy coins, such as Monero are still affected by the ban, with Binance claiming that it has to adhere to local regulations under which exchanges have to be able to monitor transactions listed on the platform.
Binance announced in September 2023 that privacy coins like Firo, Horizen, and Monero would also be delisted in Belgium.