Kraken Withdraws the Monero Question
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said on X that emails asking Monero buyers for their employer, source of funds and plans for withdrawn coins “were wrong”, that no rule required them, and that XMR stays listed “wherever it remains available”. The spending question is scrapped and affected users need not respond. Kraken’s rolling 30-day limits — $1,500 of XMR withdrawals and $3,500 of deposits for individuals, introduced 15 August — went unmentioned and remain.
Kraken: the question they had to withdraw
Kraken’s co-CEO drew the line himself: “Where your money came from is a fair question. What you do with it after it leaves is not.”
That second half is the whole fight over privacy coins in one sentence. The emails asking Monero buyers what they planned to do with their coins after withdrawing them weren’t about dirty money. They were about watching clean money leave the building.
No rule required the questions. In his words: “Someone saw a young client with a lot of money and called it a red flag.”
The apology is real, and rare. Exchanges almost never say “that was us, and it was wrong.”
But look at the order things happened. The withdrawal caps arrived in August — $1,500 of Monero withdrawals per person in any 30-day stretch. The spending questions arrived in October. Only the questions caused an outcry, and only the questions were withdrawn. The caps weren’t mentioned.
The loud restriction died. The quiet one stayed. And in Europe, where Kraken removed Monero entirely two years ago, none of this changes anything.
The door narrowed. It didn’t close.
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3 sources
- Kraken drops Monero spending questions but keeps a $1,500 rolling 30-day withdrawal cap for individuals · cryptoslate.com · T2
- ‘Unacceptable’ — Kraken apologizes, scraps Monero withdrawal questions · ambcrypto.com · T2
- Kraken Co-CEO Says Monero KYC Emails ‘Were Wrong,’ Confirms XMR Stays Listed · blockchainreporter.net · T2