{"id":151207,"date":"2021-01-10T14:36:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T11:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/"},"modified":"2021-01-10T14:36:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T11:36:21","slug":"regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/","title":{"rendered":"# Regulators dial up the heat: Dash, ZEC and Monero reach boiling point?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be7e592b8f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3be7e592b8f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/#%E2%80%9CBittrexs_action_does_not_surprise_me%E2%80%9D\" >\u201cBittrex\u2019s action does not surprise me\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/#BTC_remains_%E2%80%9Ccurrency_of_choice_for_criminals%E2%80%9D\" >BTC remains \u201ccurrency of choice for criminals\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/#%E2%80%9CNothing_inherently_wrong%E2%80%9D\" >\u201cNothing inherently wrong\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/#Importance_of_%E2%80%9Cregulated_touchpoints%E2%80%9D\" >Importance of \u201cregulated touchpoints\u201d<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\/#Expect_more_KYCAML_enforcement\" >Expect more KYC\/AML enforcement<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># Regulators dial up the heat: Dash, ZEC and Monero reach boiling point? <\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEtMDEvMWM0NmQ5OGItZWI5NC00YjkyLTg5MjEtM2I3Zjg5OWM2YWUwLmpwZw==.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-5a136f3a>On New Year\u2019s Day, the U.S.-based crypto exchange Bittrex announced via <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a> that it was delisting three leading privacy coins: Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash. A <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bittrex.zendesk.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360054393492-Pending-Market-Removals-01-15-21\">link<\/a> promised further details, but those who followed it learned nothing to explain why trades in those tokens would end on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> couldn\u2019t have been entirely surprising. Regulators, both in the United States and abroad, have been casting a gimlet eye at privacy coins these days. Unlike Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the coins promise enhanced anonymity by hiding users\u2019 addresses and transaction amounts, which make transactions more difficult to trace. Government agencies suspect they may be used for tax evasion, money laundering and perhaps other criminal activities. <\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Treasury Department\u2019s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, for instance, noted in its Dec. 23 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/public-inspection.federalregister.gov\/2020-28437.pdf\">proposed rule change<\/a> that anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies, or AECs, \u201chave a well-documented connection to illicit activity,\u201d having been \u201cused to launder Bitcoins paid to the wallet used in the Wannacry ransomware attack,\u201d for instance. Moreover: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSeveral types of AEC (e.g., Monero, Zcash, Dash, Komodo, and Beam) are increasing in popularity and employ various technologies that inhibit investigators\u2019 ability both to identify transaction activity using blockchain data and to attribute this activity to illicit activity conducted by natural persons.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Elsewhere, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service announced in September that it would provide a bounty of up to $625,000 to anyone who could break Monero, the most widely used privacy coin \u2014 suggesting that the agency believes the coin may be used to hide taxable income.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CBittrexs_action_does_not_surprise_me%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cBittrex\u2019s action does not surprise me\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Timothy Massad, former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and now a senior fellow at Harvard University\u2019s Kennedy School, told Cointelegraph: \u201cBittrex\u2019s action does not surprise me.\u201d He went on to clarify that \u201cthe use of crypto for illegal purposes has been a top concern of law enforcement agencies and regulators in the U.S. (and elsewhere), so a focus on privacy coins is to be expected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The scrutiny of the coins is not confined to the United States. In 2019, the South Korean unit of OKEx delisted five privacy coins, including XMR, Dash and ZEC, citing the G20\u2019s Financial Action Task Force\u2019s Anti-Money Laundering rules \u2014 in particular, the need for the exchange to have an address for both the sender and recipient of a crypto transaction, which privacy coins do not provide. Japan, for its part, banned privacy coins in June 2018, referring to Monero, Zcash and Dash at that time as \u201cthree anonymous siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BTC_remains_%E2%80%9Ccurrency_of_choice_for_criminals%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>BTC remains \u201ccurrency of choice for criminals\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But as is often the case with cryptocurrencies, things aren\u2019t as simple as they first <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear. While acknowledging that many of regulators\u2019 concerns with privacy coins are valid, Jevans observed that \u201cthe data still shows that Bitcoin, which is more traceable than cash, remains the currency of choice for criminals because of the ubiquity of off-ramps into fiat.\u201d Meanwhile, following the Bittrex delisting, Dash\u2019s Twitter account unsurprisingly issued a defensive statement, noting: \u201cDash\u2019s privacy functionality is no greater than Bitcoin\u2019s, making the label of \u2018privacy coin\u2019 a misnomer for Dash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lawmaster\/status\/1345059196979597312\">suggested<\/a> that the Bittrex action might have been an effort to get in step with the FATF\u2019s Anti-Money Laundering guidelines, or \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> rule,\u201d and if so, other U.S. exchanges may soon do likewise. Andrew Miller, a professor at the University of Illinois and a board member at the Zcash Foundation, had doubts about this explanation, telling Cointelegraph: \u201cSince Kraken, Gemini and other exchanges continue listing privacy coins, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because of a specific regulatory requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Cointelegraph contacted Bittrex about its recent delistings, a spokesperson for the company said: \u201cBittrex does not have a comment for this story.\u201d It should be noted that Bittrex U.S. also delisted XRP on Dec. 29, but that is likely down to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing charges against Ripple.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CNothing_inherently_wrong%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>\u201cNothing inherently wrong\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Other commentators argue that there is not anything intrinsically problematic about privacy coins. Indeed, they are a useful innovation, though perhaps they need to be managed better. \u201cThere is nothing inherently wrong with privacy coins,\u201d said Jevans, even if they make it easier to launder money than BTC. <\/p>\n<p>As noted, cash is easier to launder than Bitcoin, yet no one is talking about eliminating cash, he suggested. Miller added that privacy coins, too, could be a counteragent for excessive monitoring of crypto markets on the part of authorities, including \u201cwarrantless bulk surveillance.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Giulia Fanti, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told Cointelegraph: \u201cThe global economy is moving towards a digital financial system that will enable fine-grained surveillance by governments and\/or corporations.\u201d Privacy coins matter, among other reasons, as they signify innovation: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThey are helping spur the development of cutting-edge privacy technologies that could eventually be used in centralized digital financial services. So, while privacy coins can certainly be used for money laundering, they also provide an important counterweight to some concerning societal trends.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Preston Byrne, a partner with law firm Anderson Kill, told Cointelegraph: \u201cPrivacy coins are an important innovation not just in terms of incentivizing the development of new decentralized crypto systems but also in terms of the importance to society of having a confidential means of entering into transactions <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly, a role currently filled by cash.\u201d Moreover, privacy coins may be less useful in hiding certain illicit activities than some regulators think \u2014 provided certain guardrails are in place, according to Byrne:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAttempting to hide one\u2019s activity through a privacy coin is also unwise due to the fact that, at least for the time being, getting from the cryptoverse into real assets requires touchpoints with regulated exchanges where KYC [Know Your Customer verification] is conducted. Pushing privacy coins off of exchanges where KYC takes place strikes me as counterproductive.\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Importance_of_%E2%80%9Cregulated_touchpoints%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>Importance of \u201cregulated touchpoints\u201d<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Still, Jevans believes that \u201cwe should expect more exchanges in the U.S. and globally to delist privacy coins in order to ensure compliance until they can deploy a risk-based approach to preventing money laundering.\u201d This may not help, though, said Byrne: \u201cIn the long term, the explosive growth in so-called \u2018decentralized exchanges\u2019 will likely pick up the slack, without the benefit to the government of having coins occasionally make contact with regulated touchpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These \u201cregulated touchpoints\u201d could indeed prove privacy coins\u2019 salvation. A custodial wallet operator, for instance, \u201ccan generally see the transactions a user is executing and can still require the user to provide some form of identity,\u201d explained Fanti, adding: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSo, even if a privacy coin hides transaction contents on the public blockchain, there may still be ways to enforce regulatory requirements \u2014 at least for some important classes of transactions \u2014 with the cooperation of custodial wallet operators.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Both Zcash and Monero also support a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> called \u201cview keys\u201d that give an option to disclose information about a transaction to auditors or regulators in a secure manner, as Miller added: \u201cIt\u2019s a common misconception that privacy coins fundamentally undermine or are incompatible with the existing way regulations are applied\u201d \u2014 a sentiment voiced on social media, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/textrapper\/status\/1345065980502925313\">suggesting<\/a> that privacy coins are more about personal freedom than money laundering.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 7, it was announced that a crypto custodian will issue wrapped Monero on the Ethereum network, suggesting that not just DEXs could be working on finding a place for the three so-called privacy coins to flourish. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Expect_more_KYCAML_enforcement\"><\/span>Expect more KYC\/AML enforcement<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the end, a kind of balancing act may be required on the part of regulators and the crypto community, where the challenge is to preserve the privacy strengths of cryptocurrencies but without making them a haven for money launderers and ransomware criminals. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would expect to see continued efforts to address the risk and to step up KYC\/AML enforcement as the new administration comes in,\u201d Massad told Cointelegraph, adding: \u201cWhether privacy coins can be \u2018managed better\u2019 to satisfy both law enforcement interests and those who like the greater anonymity they provide is an interesting question. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve seen that yet though.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/regulators-dial-up-the-heat-dash-zec-and-monero-reach-boiling-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Regulators dial up the heat: Dash, ZEC and Monero reach boiling point? &#8221; On New Year\u2019s Day, the U.S.-based crypto exchange Bittrex announced via Twitter that it was delisting three leading privacy coins: Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash. A link promised further details, but those who followed it learned nothing to explain why&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2021-01\/1c46d98b-eb94-4b92-8921-3b7f899c6ae0.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15047,74867,76326,74963,76217,70934],"class_list":["post-151207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-privacy","tag-altcoin","tag-dash","tag-monero","tag-zcash","tag-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}