Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the exchange has withdrawn a compliance questionnaire sent to Monero (XMR) users, calling the request improper and confirming that XMR will remain listed on the platform.
In a post on X at 10:15 a.m. Taiwan time on Oct. 24, Sethi wrote that the message sent to XMR users 「was from us, and it was wrong.」 He said the request has now been withdrawn.
Sethi says asking how users would use withdrawn XMR was unacceptable
According to Sethi, the emails went to users who had bought XMR with their own money and then withdrawn it. They were asked to provide their employer, source of funds, and what they intended to do with the coins.
He wrote that 「there is no rule requiring that」 and said the issue started because someone saw a young user holding a large amount of money and treated that as a red flag. 「That’s not a red flag, that’s our client.」
Sethi said users who received the email have been told they do not need to submit any more information. He added that the question asking what they planned to do with the coins has been removed, describing it as 「unacceptable.」
He drew a line between source-of-funds checks and post-withdrawal use, writing: 「Where your money came from is a fair question; what you do with it after it leaves is not.」
XMR will stay listed on Kraken
Sethi ended the post by saying: 「XMR stays listed. Buy it here, take it home, that’s the product.」 He also thanked people who pointed out the issue.
CoinGecko data cited in the report showed XMR at $602.6 as of 3 p.m. Taiwan time on Oct. 25, up 2.7% over the previous 24 hours.
Kraken had already removed XMR in some markets
The report said Kraken had previously delisted XMR in some regions for regulatory reasons. According to an October 2024 report by Decrypt, Kraken said at the time that it would stop XMR trading and deposits for users in the European Economic Area because of changes in European Union regulatory rules.
Earlier that same year, the exchange had also stopped XMR trading for users in Ireland and Belgium. Users in the United Kingdom had already lost access in 2021.