Privacy Under Attack? Binance Delists Monero, Price Tanks

Binance has notified its users that it will delist Monero (XMR), a cryptocurrency known for providing privacy features. This has caused an uproar in the market, leading to a significant depreciation of Monero’s value, which currently stands at a six-month low.

Binance to Remove Monero Trading Pairs

Binance’s announcement outlined the delisting of Monero together with other tokens, including Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), and Vai(VAI). The listings will be removed on February 20, 2024.

The delisting includes all Monero trading pairs, including those with major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether(ETH), Tether USDT) and Binance’s BNB coin. This action will automatically cancel all pending trade orders for these pairs after the cessation of trading activities.

Withdrawal Support and Conversion Concerns

The exchange further stated that delisted token withdrawal support will conclude on May 20, 2024. Post this deadline, there is a possibility of converting the delisted XMR tokens into stablecoins, although this is not guaranteed. If the conversion occurs, Binance has promised to issue a separate notification concerning this conversion, ensuring users’ accounts will be credited with the stablecoins.

Binance has cited several criteria for its decision to delist Monero, emphasizing the importance of contributing to a healthy and sustainable crypto ecosystem. Factors such as evidence of unethical conduct, negligence, and responsiveness to the exchange’s due diligence requests played a significant role in this determination.

XMR/USD Market Reaction

After the announcement of delisting, Monero’s price plunged by almost 25 % in hours. Despite a slight recovery, the price is still much lower than before, underscoring the market’s responsiveness to exchange listings and regulatory actions.

The widening Bollinger bands on the 24-hour XMRUSD price chart, with upper and lower touching $185.4384 and $126.3983, respectively, indicate high volatility in Monero market movement

However, a short-term price recovery is possible with a green candlestick forming above the lower band and the price indicating upward momentum. If the candlestick closes above the lower band and the price breaks through the $150 resistance level, Monero may be in a bullish trend.

XMR/USD 24-hour price chart (source: TradingView)

After bouncing back from 20, the Monero market has an RSI rating of 35.54, making it look oversold and poised to have a price increase soon. Nevertheless, traders should be careful because the RSI is still below the 50 level, implying that bearish momentum can also exist.

In addition, the MFI rating of 41.52 and pointing south signifies that selling pressure is still in the Monero market. This may limit the potential for price increases in the short term because a decline of MFI means more money is being withdrawn from the market rather than flowing into it.