Quick answer: Kraken Monero withdrawal emails asking some buyers for their employer, source of funds and plans for withdrawn XMR are withdrawn, co-CEO Arjun Sethi said on X around 02:15 UTC on Oct. 24, 2026. He said no rule required the questions. Source-of-funds checks stay, and XMR stays listed, per The Defiant and Wu Blockchain.
Kraken has backed down on one of the most talked-about compliance moves in crypto this week. After customers who bought and withdrew Monero (XMR) posted emails asking for their employer, bank statements and plans for the coins, the exchange’s co-CEO said the requests were a mistake and pulled them.
However, the reversal took less than a day. Even so, it reopened an old question for privacy coin holders: how much can an exchange ask once your coins are in your own wallet?
What did Kraken ask Monero buyers?
The emails surfaced on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. At 19:26 UTC, the trader account KookCapitalLLC posted on X that Kraken was emailing people who withdrew Monero and asking what they planned to do with it. The post listed requests for employer details, bank statements and proof of where the USDC used to buy XMR came from. It drew more than 27,000 views within hours.
According to cryptonews.net, the emails asked customers who bought XMR with their own money for their employer, their source of funds and the intended use of the coins. A separate report from Crypto Adventure said recipients were asked to send three months of bank statements within seven days. So far, Kraken has not said how many customers got the emails or in which countries.
Why did Kraken reverse course?
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi responded on X around 02:15 UTC on Oct. 24, per Crypto Watch Desk. He wrote that “the monero:native emails were us. They were wrong” and that “no rule required it.”
Specifically, Sethi traced the emails to one staff decision. In his account, an employee saw a young client with a lot of money and treated that as a red flag. “That is not a red flag. That is our customer and client,” he wrote. He said the requests are withdrawn and the clients have been told nothing is required of them, as summarized by Wu Blockchain and The Defiant.
Will Kraken still check where your money comes from?
Yes. Sethi drew a clear line: “Where your money came from is a fair question. What you do with it after it leaves is not.”
In other words, standard anti-money-laundering checks stay in place. Kraken’s source-of-funds policy lets it ask for documents showing how you built your wealth or where money for a specific trade came from, per cryptonews.net. Its information-request policy, updated Oct. 1, says an unanswered request can pause trading and deposits, but withdrawals are not affected. What is gone is the question about how you plan to use coins after you move them off the platform.
Is Monero still listed on Kraken?
Yes, where it is allowed. “XMR stays listed. Buy it here, take it home,” Sethi wrote. Kraken’s XMR/USD market showed as online and Monero funding as operational late on Oct. 23, per cryptonews.net.
Still, regional limits apply. Kraken stopped XMR trading and deposits for European Economic Area customers on Oct. 31, 2024, and its rules also bar XMR for clients in the UK, Canada and Australia, per the same reports. For context on how exchanges are treating privacy assets, see our coverage of the Zcash NU7 upgrade date and the FreedomXMR laundering findings.
What does this mean for the XMR market?
Meanwhile, the price barely reacted. Monero traded near $587 at 07:56 UTC on Oct. 24, down about 3.4% in 24 hours but up about 5.1% over seven days, according to CoinGecko. It hit a seven-day high near $650 on Oct. 22, before a broad crypto sell-off pulled most coins lower. XMR’s market value sits around $11.1 billion.
Instead, the bigger effect is on trust. Some traders said the emails pushed more XMR off exchanges and into self-custody, which is a common reaction when a platform looks like it is policing what users do with their own coins. Kraken’s fast reversal limits that damage, but it does not change the long-term pressure on privacy coins from regulators. We tracked the last big move in our Monero price report.
Market implications:
- Exchanges that keep privacy coins listed face a balance between compliance and user trust. Kraken just showed where it draws that line.
- Holders in supported regions can still buy and withdraw XMR, but should expect source-of-funds checks on large or unusual activity.
- Any similar move by another major exchange could revive delisting fears and outflows.
Kraken Monero Withdrawal FAQ
Do I still have to answer Kraken’s Monero questionnaire?
No. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said on Oct. 24, 2026, that the requests were withdrawn and affected clients were told nothing is required of them.
Can Kraken still ask for my bank statements?
Yes, for source-of-funds checks. Sethi said asking where your money came from is fair, and Kraken’s policy allows document requests on large or unusual activity. It will no longer ask what you plan to do with coins after withdrawal.
Is Monero being delisted from Kraken?
No. Sethi wrote on Oct. 24, 2026, that “XMR stays listed.” It remains unavailable in the European Economic Area, the UK, Canada and Australia under Kraken’s regional rules.
Why did Kraken send the Monero emails?
Sethi said a staff member treated a young client with a large balance as a red flag. He said that view was wrong and that no rule required the questions.
Not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile; do your own research (DYOR) before you trade.
Sources
- The Defiant: Kraken Scraps Monero Withdrawal Questionnaires, Keeps XMR Listed
- cryptonews.net: Kraken Scraps Monero Withdrawal Questionnaires
- Crypto Watch Desk: Kraken drops Monero withdrawal questionnaires
- Crypto Adventure: Kraken Apologizes and Withdraws Monero Withdrawal Questions
- Wu Blockchain on X
- KookCapitalLLC on X
- CoinGecko: Monero price data
