Crypto exchange Huobi to delist privacy tokens like Zcash, Monero

HUOBI, once one of the largest Chinese cryptocurrency exchanges, will delist a number of privacy-focused tokens including Zcash and Monero amid rising regulatory concern worldwide.

“Huobi Global strictly complies with the compliance policies of every country and always endeavours to safeguard our users’ assets,” the firm said in a statement dated Sep 11. The tokens that will be delisted on Sep 19 include Zcash, Monero, Dash, Decred, Firo, and Verge.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ether, privacy tokens such as Monero are designed to avoid tracking. Privacy is a key objective of many crypto proponents, however, there have been increased regulatory concerns in the digital-asset privacy sector.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control accused Tornado Cash, a project to mask crypto transactions, of laundering more than US$7 billion of tokens since it’s created in 2019. The agency sanctioned not only digital wallets associated with Tornado Cash but code running on blockchains known as smart contracts.

Huobi recently secured a licence from the financial watchdog in the British Virgin Islands to operate a crypto exchange there. BLOOMBERG