Coincheck removes three cryptocurrencies from its listings to stop money laundering by hackers

According to the Japan Times, crypto exchange Coincheck will stop processing three cryptocurrencies, Monero, Zcash, and Dash, in an effort to combat money laundering.

Coincheck's move may be related to the theft of NEM in January this year. In January this year, hackers robbed Coincheck of $547 million worth of NEM. Cybersecurity experts said that hackers set up a website for trading virtual currencies on the dark web and began to exchange the stolen NEM on February 7. This means that the stolen NEM can no longer be tracked after being exchanged for legal currency, and criminals engaged in money laundering activities cannot be caught.

The three currencies removed from the market this time are all highly anonymous, and their recipients cannot be identified in the blockchain, so they are more likely to be used for money laundering. For example, Monero transactions use randomly generated one-time addresses that cannot be connected to by others. Earlier news pointed out that North Korean hackers used malicious programs to mine and steal Monero to evade international sanctions and receive foreign funds.

Coincheck is considering buying the three cryptocurrencies from users who agree to sell them at a fixed price, the sources said.

Coincheck submitted an application for a cryptocurrency exchange license to Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) in September last year, but the application has not been approved. The Japan Times pointed out that this is partly because Coincheck needs to handle digital currencies whose owners are anonymous.

Coincheck suspended cryptocurrency trading after the NEM theft. The exchange resumed trading of cryptocurrencies other than the three currencies last Monday and completed compensation for users affected by the theft last Tuesday.