Source: Aiying Payment Compliance
According to European online retailer Shopinbit, Monero (XMR) became the most popular payment method in June. Shopinbit shared on its X platform (formerly Twitter) that more than 74% of payments in June were completed in Monero.
Founded in 2018, Shopinbit offers more than one million products, including sports equipment, electronics, toys, bicycles, outdoor equipment, and pet supplies. The company revealed that 74.54% of all transactions in June were paid with Monero and 23.64% were paid with on-chain Bitcoin. In addition, 1.73% of payments were processed through the Lightning Network second-layer platform, while fiat currency payments accounted for only 0.08%.
Despite the recent overall rise in the cryptocurrency market, Monero has fallen 2.2% over the past day. However, Monero has risen 1.9% against the US dollar over the past week. Monero’s trading price fluctuated between $156 and $160 per coin in 24 hours, with a trading volume of approximately $56 million. Monero is currently the most valuable privacy coin with a market value of $2.88 billion.
Shopinbit said that if Monero continues to maintain its leading position in the next two months, they will change the company’s profile from “Europe’s largest Bitcoin store” to “Europe’s largest Bitcoin and Monero store”.
This series of data and plans demonstrates Monero’s popularity in practical applications, especially its advantages in privacy protection, which has gradually gained favor among consumers.
Aiying's Comment: Supporting Monero as a payment method may face the following major regulatory issues:
Monero is known for its high privacy, which makes it very difficult to track transactions. Therefore, many regulators are concerned that Monero may be used for money laundering and financing terrorist activities. Anti-money laundering regulations in various countries require financial institutions and related companies to report suspicious transactions, and the anonymity of Monero challenges this requirement.
Many countries require cryptocurrency exchanges and payment service providers to comply with specific compliance requirements, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and transaction transparency. However, Monero is designed so that transactions cannot be tracked and audited by outsiders, which conflicts with existing compliance requirements. For example, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the EU's Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) both have a strict attitude towards privacy coins.
Privacy coins such as Monero may face stricter regulation or even bans in some countries. For example, the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) has banned exchanges from listing Monero, arguing that these coins are prone to being used for illegal activities.
The anonymity of Monero also poses challenges for tax compliance. Tax authorities need accurate information to assess and collect taxes, but the anonymity of Monero transactions makes this information difficult to obtain. This can lead to tax issues, especially in countries with strict tax regulations.
Due to the privacy nature of Monero, its transactions are untraceable on the blockchain, posing great technical and legal challenges to law enforcement agencies. This feature can hinder legal proceedings when investigating and prosecuting criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies.
Japan: The Japanese Financial Services Agency prohibits exchanges from trading privacy coins such as Monero.
EU: The EU's Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (6AMLD) has strengthened the supervision of cryptocurrencies, especially the focus on privacy coins.
United States: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) strictly regulate privacy coin transactions and require reporting of suspicious activities.
As for how Shopinbit handles these possible problems, Aiying speculates that it may be due to the following reasons:
1. As a European company, it is inevitable to comply with the MICA Act. For details, please refer to "European MiCA Act 10,000-word Research Report: Comprehensive Interpretation of the Far-reaching Impact on the Web3 Industry, DeFi, Stablecoins and ICO Projects".
Although the MiCA Act has been passed, its implementation is a gradual process, and member states need time to adjust and adapt to new regulatory requirements. During the transition period, the regulatory environment in some regions may still be relatively loose.
Also, although the MiCA Act provides a unified regulatory framework within the EU, there may be differences in the specific implementation of each country. Some countries may already have a relatively mature cryptocurrency regulatory framework and will not immediately change existing policies during the transition period.
2. Shopinbit may have taken internal compliance measures that meet MiCA requirements, such as KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) policies. These measures can help them remain compliant during the implementation of the regulations while continuing to provide Monero payment services.
Shopinbit may reduce compliance risks when accepting Monero payments through strict risk management and compliance measures to ensure the legality and transparency of its transactions. The company may work closely with legal counsel to ensure that its business model complies with the latest regulatory requirements.
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