Binance ends support for anonymous Litecoin transactions

Published at: June 13, 2022

Crypto exchange Binance announced it is ending support for Litecoin (LTC) transactions sent through the latest MimbleWimble (MWEB) upgrade.

Binance warned that any transaction sent through the MWEB function would be lost since the crypto exchange can’t verify the sender’s address. The crypto exchange didn’t respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comments at the time of publishing.

The announcement comes just days after major South Korean crypto exchanges delisted LTC due to the latest upgrade, which makes transaction information confidential. The delisting came just weeks after five crypto exchanges issued warnings similar to Binance. However, the delisting didn’t come as a surprise, as South Korea is known for its strict privacy laws, which prohibit anonymous transactions on crypto exchanges.

The MWEB upgrade on LTC is one of the critical updates that went live earlier this year, nearly two and half years after it was first proposed. The upgrade added several privacy features and made the LTC blockchain more scalable.

Gate.io, another popular crypto trading platform, also ended support for MWEB Litecoin transactions, claiming anonymous transactions are not supported on the platform.

Related: Crypto exchange Binance seeks critical licenses in Philippines, CEO says

The decision to end support for the MWEB function also comes at a time when the leading crypto exchange has been marred in controversies. Binance was recently accused of facilitating $2.5 billion worth of illicit transactions by Reuters.

Chagpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance refuted all such allegations, pointing to the data released by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The Reuters article yesterday is a huge waste of time and resources. This is the last I'll say on it, and the last our team will interact with the writer.The author continues to wear it as a badge of honor on Twitter when his fiction pieces get fact-checked after he publishes.

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 7, 2022

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission also opened a security violation investigation regarding Binance’s BNB ICO sale in 2017.

The privacy feature that was seen as an important upgrade has turned out to be a bane for one of the oldest cryptocurrencies. The MWEB upgrade comes at a time when regulatory oversight is at its highest and privacy features have become the primary target of regulators around the globe.

Tags
Altcoin
Business
Cryptocurrency Exchange
Cryptocurrencies
Binance
Litecoin
Mimblewimble
Related Posts
Binance launches tradable stock tokens in Tesla
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is launching tradable stock tokens that aim to enable a wider section of the public to pocket capital returns on equities, including potential dividends, without having to purchase full, traditional shares. The first publicly tradable equity in the form of a Binance stock token will be Tesla, the share price of which currently hovers around the $700 mark. Rather than purchase a full, traditional share, for which custody of a physical share certificate is required, users can purchase as little as one one-hundredth of a Tesla share represented by a digital token. Binance stated: “Each digital token …
Technology / April 12, 2021
Ex-TradingView COO Joins Binance as Director of Fiat, Europe and CIS
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is planning to further bolster its fiat-to-crypto gateways by hiring a former TradingView exec. Iskander Malikov, a former chief operating officer at major trading chart analysis service TradingView, has joined Binance as the new director of fiat, the exchange announced Feb. 6. Former TradingView COO to focus on fiat-to-crypto gateways in Europe and CIS After serving for over three years at TradingView, Malikov will be now focused on fiat-to-crypto channels in regions across Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The former TradingView executive will primarily work on establishing new gateways …
Trading / Feb. 7, 2020
Binance Turkey fined 8M lira for non-compliance against money laundering
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), which serves as Turkey’s financial intelligence unit under the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, found crypto exchange Binance’s Turkey operations guilty of violating laws that intend to prevent the laundering of money acquired through criminal means. According to local news media Anadolu Agency, MASAK carried out an audit of Law No. 5549 on Prevention of Laundering Proceeds of Crime, also known as the AML Law. The AML Law in Turkey requires companies to identify and verify the personal identification information of the customers on the platform, which includes details such as surname, date of …
Bitcoin / Dec. 26, 2021
Indian exchange WazirX follows Binance in delisting USDC
Major Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has opted to delist the USD Coin (USDC) from its platform and convert the remaining balances into Binance-backed Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. WazirX officially announced on Monday that it has stopped deposits of USDC alongside other stablecoins like Pax Dollar (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD). According to the announcement, the platform will instead offer the BUSD stablecoin to enhance liquidity and capital efficiency for users. WazirX will implement BUSD auto-conversion for users' existing balances of USDC, USDP and TUSD at a 1:1 ratio on Oct. 5, the firm said. “Users will be able to view their …
Altcoin / Sept. 19, 2022
Crypto recruitment execs reveal the safest jobs amid layoff season
Despite a wave of heavy crypto layoffs to start the new year, employees in technical and engineering roles, as well as senior management, will likely continue to see “strong demand” for their skills, recruitment professionals believe. It’s been a tough first few weeks of 2023 for crypto businesses and their staff. Within just two weeks, the market has already seen more than 1,600 crypto-related job cuts as a result of continued market volatility and uncertainty. However, not all departments have seen the same level of cuts. SAFU: Senior-level tech and engineering Rob Paone, founder and CEO of crypto recruitment firm …
Blockchain / Jan. 18, 2023