Bitstamp, one of the longest-running active cryptocurrency exchanges, is considering launching a batch of new crypto asset listings.
Curiously, Bitstamp is contemplating support for Zcash (ZEC), despite an increasing number of exchanges seeking to distance themselves from privacy coins due to associated regulatory risks.
Bitfinex considers first new listings in 3 years
On March 31, Bitstamp announced it is “actively exploring” support for seven crypto assets, including two stablecoins and one privacy coin.
The prospective listings comprise Basic Attention Token (BAT), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Paxos Standard (PAX), 0x (ZRX), USD Coin (USDC), and Zcash.
Exchanges abandon privacy coins
In 2019, updated money laundering guidelines from the Financial Action Task Force, or FATF, comprised the catalyst for a spate of privacy coin delistings.
During August 2019, leading U.S.-based exchange Coinbase announced that it would no longer offer support for Zcash custody and pairing for customers based in the U.K.
In September, South Korean exchanges, OKEx and Upbit, announced they would cease support for several privacy coins including ZEC, Monero (XMR), and Dash (DASH); crypto assets described as “the three anonymous siblings” by Japanese regulators.
BitBay also dropped XMR in November 2019.
Users may see signs of prospective listings on Bitstamp
The exchange notes that consideration of the prospective listings will involve “strict technical, safety and compliance reviews, as well as regulatory approval in certain jurisdictions.”
Bitstamp adds that users may notice “signs of engineering work” related to the crypto assets under consideration, adding: “We cannot guarantee that this will result in any new listings and it does not disqualify any other assets from being monitored for possible support at Bitstamp.”
Should Bitstamp support a new crypto asset, it will be the exchange’s first new listing since Bitcoin Cash in 2017, and the first listing introduced by NXMH — the Belgium-based investment company who acquired Bitstamp in October 2018.