Litecoin has been delisted from Bithumb and Upbit, two South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, due to changes made to the coin that allows for better transaction anonymity.
Bithumb and Upbit announced that they were discontinuing market support for Litecoin because its recently activated Mimblewimble Extension Blocks (MWEB) network upgrade clashes with South Korean anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Upbit alluded to a feature in Litecoin trading that “enables users to not expose transaction information,” sparking concerns that “anonymous transmission technology” will be added to the coin’s functioning. Upbit’s market support for Litecoin will end on June 20, and users will have one month to withdraw their cash from the exchange before July 20.
Bithumb is acting more quickly. The exchange stressed its commitment to “protect [its] users and to construct a transparent digital asset market.” in its delisting notice. On June 8, users will be unable to deposit Litecoin and will have until July 25 to fully withdraw their Litecoin from the exchange.
Litecoin may be found on most major cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, including Coinbase, FTX US, and Binance US. It was also one of the first cryptocurrencies to be offered for sale on Robinhood in 2018, but recent steps by South Korean exchanges may cast doubt on the coin’s survival.
Coinbase, Robinhood, Binance US, Kraken, Gemini, FTX US, and Crypto.com all offer Litecoin on their sites but did not respond to queries for comment right away.
In the past, exchanges have been wary of so-called privacy coins, which employ advanced privacy mechanisms to allow market participants to maintain their identities. Zcash and Monero are the most extensively utilized privacy coins, with a combined market value of about $4.7 billion.
The anonymous nature of transactions using this type of cryptocurrency makes it useful for illegal operations and might be a great tool for scammers and hackers looking to launder money.
Litecoin is one of the oldest and best-known cryptocurrencies; at one time in 2017, it was the third most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. While it is still available on almost all crypto exchanges in the United States, this could change in the future if firms follow in the footsteps of Bithumb and Upbit.
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