Japanese Liquid Exchange to Delist Zcash to Get Licensed in Singapore

Published at: July 23, 2020

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid is reportedly delisting privacy-focused coin Zcash (ZEC) in order to apply for a license to operate in Singapore.

The Electric Coin Company, which develops the Zcash cryptocurrency, announced the news in a July 22 tweet. They elaborated that Zcash will be delisted from Liquid alongside 28 other tokens.

Liquid, which recently ranked #6 among top tier exchanges on CryptoCompare, has not yet posted an official statement on whether they plan to delist Zcash. Cointelegraph reached out to the exchange with more queries and will update the article pending any new information.

Zcash is entirely compatible with AML and CFT regulations, Zcash developer says

According to the Electric Coin Company, Liquid's decision was “made out of an abundance of caution” in order to prompt the process of obtaining the license.

The Zcash developer emphasized that despite privacy-oriented nature, Zcash is “entirely compatible” with Anti-Money Laundering, or AML, and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, or CFT, regulations. The Electric Coin Company highlighted that this goes in line with December 2019 notice by Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS.

Expressing hope that Liquid will soon reverse its decision to delist Zcash, the Electric Coin Company continued:

“We are not aware of any other exchanges taking a similar course of action. However, we are always available to help exchanges who wish to better understand how Zcash fits within a regulatory framework, and how exchanges can comply with their AML/CFT obligations.”

What is Zcash?

Zcash is one of most popular privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies alongside coins like Monero (XMR). Opposed to public blockchains of cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), Zcash is designed to allow users to selectively disclose private information about their transactions. Despite some reports claiming that more than 99% of Zcash transactions are traceable, there is still apparently a trend to delist privacy coins like Zcash, as major exchanges like Coinbase did in August 2019.

On the other hand, in April 2020, Bitstamp was planning to list Zcash amid an increasing number of exchanges seeking to distance themselves from privacy coins due to associated regulatory risks.

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