Japan’s Financial Services Agency is quietly pressuring cryptocurrency exchanges to give up handling Monero (XMR/USD), Zcash (ZEC/USD), Dash (DASH/USD) and other cryptocurrencies favored by criminals and hackers.
According to Forbes, sources close to the FSA confirmed that they were taking all available steps to discourage the use of certain alternative virtual currencies that have become attractive to the underworld because they are difficult to track:
The FSA claims that it is very difficult, if not impossible,to identify the recipients of currencies like Monero via a blockchain or any other public ledger. The anonymity makes the coins ideal for money laundering.The blockchain (public ledger) for bitcoin makes it possible for seasoned investigators to follow the money. Increasingly, cyber criminals choose these new “privacy coins” when they demand ransom payments or engage in sales of illegal goods.
The FSA is particularly adverse to Monero, especially after it was reported in January that North Korea may be mining the currency to raise funds.
“Currently, all three currencies can be legally exchanged in Japan but there is a possibility that in the future trading in the currencies could be banned. However, the FSA could also simply apply pressure on registered cryptocurrency exchanges to effectively stop their trade in Japan,” Forbes reports.
Neither Monex nor Coincheck have yet responded to questions and inquiries on why they dropped handling the three cryptocurrencies.
By Ksenia Batanova