Jesse Powell addresses reasons for Kraken dropping Monero in the U.K

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Kraken CEO Jesse Powell took to Reddit this week to discuss the situation surrounding the dropping of Monero in the U.K.

He implied it was a decision he didn’t want to take, but with one eye on the “broader business” in the U.K, it was something he was forced to do.

“Unfortunately, we have to pick our battles and look out for the broader business in the country.”

Driven by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) directives, privacy tokens have become demonized over the past two years or so. This has led to many instances of exchanges delisting privacy tokens over this period.

Powell explains the reasons why Kraken dropped Monero

In a company email shared on Reddit last week, crypto exchange Kraken said it would end Monero support for its U.K customers.

“On the 26th of November, all Monero (XMR) trading on Kraken will cease in the UK. This includes Instant Buy/Sell Services as well as order book trading on XMR/BTC, XMR/USD, and XMR/EUR.”

While the crypto community is generally sympathetic and understanding of the situation faced by centralized exchanges, Powell felt it necessary to talk more about the situation.

He said the move is likely permanent until such time as U.K authorities better understand the value behind Monero or more effective surveillance tools are developed.

“I hate to turn away business but I don’t think we’ll be approved to support Monero again in the UK until the regulator better understands its value or feels like they have better surveillance tools.”

Powell added that Kraken continues to support Monero, and other privacy coins, in as many jurisdictions as possible. With that, he called on the U.K crypto community to contact their local Parliamentary representative to voice their opinion on the inequitable treatment of privacy coins.

Will it make a difference in the end?

Privacy coins, like Monero, are often vilified as the choice for cybercriminals or as a means to launder money and evade taxes.

But others see them as the last line of defense in protecting personal data and privacy. Those who hold this view tend to oppose the centralized oligopoly of tech giants, citing the situation as intrusive and parasitical.

“They seem to dominate so much of the technology, push the limits of privacy and ultimately commoditize the ideas, thoughts, and actions of individuals.”

However, ultimately, the efforts of regulators may come to nothing as decentralized exchanges will likely step in as the go-to place to acquire privacy tokens.

Samuel Wan

Analyst at CryptoSlate

Samuel is a strong believer in individual autonomy and personal freedom. He is a relative newcomer to the world of cryptocurrency, having first bought Bitcoin in early 2017, but keen to make up for the lost time.