Kraken Halts Monero (XMR) Deposits Amid Security Concerns—When Will It Be Safe Again?

Crypto exchange Kraken hits pause on Monero deposits—citing 'safety concerns' but offering zero transparency. Privacy coin holders left in the dark.

Security first—or just CYA? Kraken freezes XMR transactions without clear explanation, sparking speculation about regulatory pressure or protocol vulnerabilities. 'Until further notice' sounds awfully permanent for a coin that thrives on opacity.

Meanwhile, TradFi bankers sip champagne, whispering 'told you so' about crypto's 'risk management.'

Why Did Kraken Suspend Monero Deposits On Its Platform?

In an August 15 update on its website, Kraken announced that it is temporarily stopping the deposit of Monero tokens on its trading platform after detecting that a single mining pool has taken control of more than half of the blockchain’s total hashing power.

The cryptocurrency exchange said:

This concentration of mining power poses a potential risk to network integrity. We are actively monitoring the situation and will resume deposits once we determine it is SAFE to do so. Trading and withdrawals for XMR remain fully operational.

Following the release of Qubic’s claim, emerging reports on social media platform X revealed that there indeed was a six-block reorganization on the Monero blockchain, suggesting that the team does control a large enough portion of the hash rate.

As Kraken mentioned, it is worth noting that Qubic’s seizure and control of the majority of Monero’s total hashing power could be significantly detrimental to the decentralized ethos of blockchain technology. As it stands—with Qubic controlling 51% of the hash rate, the network is at risk of transaction censoring, double spends, and blocks reorganization, undermining the blockchain’s integrity.

XMR Price Overview

The reaction of the XMR price to these claims of a 51% attack on the Monero blockchain has been fairly measured. While the altcoin did lose more than 10% of its value immediately the news broke out and a further 5% in the subsequent days, the Monero token seems to be recovering well.

As of this writing, the Monero token is valued at around $265, reflecting a nearly 12% jump in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, CoinGecko data shows that the altcoin is down by only 4% on the weekly timeframe.