Swyftx Acquisition Signals End for Privacy Coins on New Zealand Platforms

Easy Crypto, previously the sole domestic exchange offering these coins under strict Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols, has confirmed their impending removal as part of it's integration with Swyftx

and their delisting policies.

Paul Quickenden from Easy Crypto explained: "The short answer is that, like most major global exchanges, Monero and Zcash don’t meet our listing criteria. Swyftx doesn’t list any privacy coins and going forward we’ll be aligning to their policy when the two businesses are integrated."

This creates a gap in the regulated market. Local platforms such as Pay It Now have never supported these assets, while Binance, widely used in New Zealand, delisted Monero globally in February 2024.

With no remaining local options, New Zealanders will increasingly turn to peer-to-peer (P2P) networks

or unregulated offshore services, a trend accelerated by the July 2025 ban on crypto ATMs intended to limit anonymous transactions.

An anonymous member of the New Zealand P2P Marketplace commented: "It doesn’t really impact me, I wasn't using KYC'd exchanges to acquire XMR in the first place."

Paul acknowledged legitimate uses for these tools: "There are valid use cases for privacy assets, like protecting your wallet activity from being scraped by vendors or ensuring business confidentiality on-chain."

"And obviously privacy is going to be very important to investors as we move towards an even more blockchain dominated future." he added.

He also addressed regulatory constraints: "But as currently designed, a lot of privacy coins sit outside the risk appetites of large, secure exchanges like Easy Crypto that have to follow strict anti-money laundering requirements."

This reflects increased scrutiny, with global delistings of privacy coins rising from 51 exchanges in 2023 to 73 in 2025. In Australia, platforms such as Swyftx faced debanking threats from banks in 2020 due to these listings.

Alex Harper, Swyftx's former CEO, remarked at the time: “While we do not fully align with the hard-line response of banning all privacy related coins, we will continue to work proactively with our partners and regulators to reduce criminal activity and advance the crypto industry in the most effective ways.”

On the international front, the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) and Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) will ban regulated entities from handling privacy coins starting July 2027, requiring identity checks for transactions exceeding 1,000 euros and curbing anonymous or self-custodied wallets.

Frankfurt's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority will oversee these measures, which target illicit finance amid ongoing privacy debates.

Darknet markets, often considered early testing grounds for P2P electronic cash, have increasingly favored privacy coins because of Bitcoin's traceability.

Reports indicate that in 2024, nearly half of new marketplaces exclusively accepted Monero, up from over one-third in 2023.

Chainalysis data shows Monero (XMR) is the primary currency on darknet markets, accounting for about 60% of transactions in 2025.

In contrast, Bitcoin's use as P2P cash is limited, with on-chain analysis revealing less than 2% of activity tied to payments and real-economy purchases.

Zcash (ZEC), by contrast, sees minimal use on darknet markets. Unlike Monero's mandatory privacy, Zcash offers optional shielded transactions that require users to activate zero-knowledge proofs.

Zcash has attracted institutional interest, including an additional $18 million investment from Winklevoss-backed Cypherpunk Holdings in 2025, raising its holdings to $150 million.

Critics argue this mainstream alignment dilutes the cypherpunk commitment to default privacy, framing Zcash as a regulator friendly option blending selective anonymity with hard regulatory compliance.

In 2025, Monero posted a year-to-date return of approximately 105%, while Zcash surged around 618% amid increased privacy demand.

Both outperformed Bitcoin during the year.