Two digital assets, Monero’s XMR, and Multichain’s MULTI, saw a steep drop in value after Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, revealed that they would be delisted by Feb. 20.
Earlier today, Feb. 6, Binance said XMR and MULTI, alongside other digital assets like Aragon (ANT) and Vai (VAI), would be delisted and removed from several products on its platform because they no longer meet its listing criteria.
“[The] delisted tokens may be converted into stablecoins on behalf of users after 2024-05-21 03:00 (UTC). Please note that the conversion of delisted tokens into stablecoins is not guaranteed. A separate notification will be made before the conversion where applicable,” Binance added.
Following the news, XMR and MULTI’s values plunged by around 20% to as low as $136 and $1.55, respectively, according to CryptoSlate’s data. On the other hand, ANT and VAI reacted mildly to the crypto exchange’s decision as their price fell by under 1%, respectively.
Why is Binance delisting XMR and MULTI?
Binance’s recent move to delist these digital assets comes as little surprise, given its prior warning about potential failure to meet listing criteria due to heightened volatility and associated risks.
However, market observers speculated that the decision to delist Monero could be linked to Binance’s recent efforts to comply with the evolving regulatory standards.
Privacy-focused coins, such as Monero, have drawn regulatory attention due to concerns regarding their possible misuse in illicit activities, forcing major exchanges like OKX to delist them. Notably, Monero is the largest privacy-oriented blockchain network by market capitalization.
On the other hand, Multichain, a cross-chain protocol facilitating asset and NFT bridging across multiple blockchains, grabbed headlines last year when $126 million worth of funds vanished abruptly, and the Chinese authorities detained its CEO.
Subsequently, the protocol’s team ceased operations because they could not maintain operations as several users complained of delayed transactions and locked funds.