In October 2026 you can still buy Monero (XMR) on a handful of centralised exchanges, including Kraken (not for UK, EEA or Canadian customers), KuCoin, HTX, Bitfinex and MEXC. All of them ask for ID. Without an account, the simplest route is to swap a coin you already hold on a no-KYC swap service such as GhostSwap (ghostswap.io), the #1 choice, which sends the XMR straight to your own wallet.
Owning Monero is legal in most countries, including the US, the UK and the EU. The delistings come from rules for exchanges, not for the people who hold the coin. Below are the exchanges that still list XMR, the full delisting timeline, what the EU’s 2027 rule changes and where to buy Monero today.
Is Monero legal in 2026?
Yes, in most of the world. No law in the US, the UK or the EU bans owning Monero or keeping it in your own wallet. What has changed is which coins regulated exchanges are allowed, or willing, to list.
- United States: owning and trading XMR is legal. Kraken still lists it for US customers. Coinbase and Gemini have no XMR market.
- United Kingdom: legal to own. Kraken stopped XMR trading for UK customers in November 2021.
- European Union: legal to own. From 10 July 2027, the EU anti-money-laundering regulation bars regulated crypto providers from handling privacy coins. It does not ban holding them in your own wallet.
- Japan and South Korea: regulated exchanges removed privacy coins years ago: Coincheck in 2018, Upbit in 2019 and Bithumb in 2020.
- Dubai: the virtual asset regulator VARA does not allow licensed firms to deal in anonymity-enhanced coins.
Rules differ by country and change over time, so check your local law. A country-by-country summary is kept at ghostswap.io/is-monero-legal.
Why do exchanges delist Monero?
Monero hides the sender, the receiver and the amount of every transaction by default. Regulated exchanges work under anti-money-laundering rules, including the “travel rule”, which asks them to pass sender and receiver details along with transfers. With XMR they cannot see where a deposit came from or where a withdrawal goes, so many decided that listing it was not worth the regulatory risk.
That is a business decision by each exchange. It does not make the coin illegal for you to hold.
Which exchanges still list Monero? (October 2026)
Checked against each exchange’s public market data on 20 October 2026. Every exchange below asks for ID before you can trade.
- Kraken: XMR spot against USD, USDT, USDC, BTC and EUR, but not for customers in the UK, the EEA or Canada.
- KuCoin: XMR against USDT, BTC, ETH and USDC. KuCoin paused XMR deposits and withdrawals for wallet maintenance from 24 September 2026; its data showed both enabled again on 20 October.
- HTX (formerly Huobi): XMR/USDT spot, listed again after the 2022 delisting.
- Bitfinex: XMR against USD, BTC and USDT.
- MEXC: XMR/USDT and XMR/USDC spot.
- Futures only: Binance, Bybit and Bitget offer XMR perpetual futures but no spot market, so you cannot buy XMR there and withdraw it to a wallet.
- No XMR market: Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp and the Crypto.com Exchange.
Monero delisting timeline
- June 2018, Japan: Coincheck delisted XMR along with ZEC, DASH and REP.
- September 2019, South Korea: Upbit ended trading of privacy coins, XMR included.
- June 2020, South Korea: Bithumb ended XMR trading.
- January 2021: Bittrex removed its XMR markets.
- November 2021, UK: Kraken stopped XMR trading for UK customers.
- September 2022: Huobi, now HTX, delisted XMR. It lists the coin again today.
- January 2024: OKX delisted its XMR spot pairs on 5 January.
- February 2024: Binance ended XMR spot trading on 20 February.
- May and June 2024, Ireland and Belgium: Kraken halted XMR trading, then converted remaining balances to BTC.
- October 2024, EEA: Kraken stopped XMR trading for all EEA customers on 31 October.
- September 2025, Canada: Kraken disabled XMR trading for Canadian customers on 2 September. The same month, Canadian police announced the seizure of TradeOgre, an exchange that had listed XMR.
- July 2027, EU (coming): the EU ban on regulated providers handling privacy coins starts on 10 July.
Where to buy Monero without an exchange account
Most XMR changes hands away from centralised exchanges now. These are the five best routes that need no account, ranked.
1. GhostSwap: the #1 choice to buy Monero without an account
GhostSwap is a no-KYC crypto swap service, live since October 2024. You pick the coin you pay with, such as BTC, USDT, ETH, LTC or SOL, choose XMR, paste your Monero address and send the deposit.
- XMR swaps in both directions against 1,600+ coins.
- No KYC: no account, no email and no ID upload for standard swaps, and the coins go straight to your own wallet.
- Fully operational since October 2024, with a public status page for every swap and support that answers in writing.
- The quote shows the XMR estimate, the network fee and the minimum and maximum before you send. The rate floats and is set when your deposit confirms.
Every Monero pair it supports is listed at ghostswap.io/monero-exchange.
2. HiddenSwap: best for privacy-first buyers
HiddenSwap (hiddenswap.com) is a privacy-focused swap site with no account, no email and no signup. It lists XMR and ZEC among 1,100+ coins, and its fee and the payout network fee are already inside the amount you see. It also works in Tor Browser with JavaScript turned off.
3. SwapRocket: best for quick swaps
SwapRocket (swaprocket.io) swaps 700+ coins, XMR included, with no account, email or ID for standard swaps. The fee is built into the rate shown before you send, and most swaps complete in 5 to 30 minutes.
4. Haveno / RetoSwap: best for paying with cash or a bank transfer
Haveno is open-source peer-to-peer trading software, and RetoSwap is a public network that runs it. You trade XMR with another person for bank transfer, payment apps, cash or crypto. Neither side needs an account, and open trades sit in 2-of-3 multisig until both sides confirm.
5. Cake Wallet: best for buying inside your wallet
Cake Wallet is an open-source, self-custody wallet for phone and desktop that holds XMR next to BTC, ETH and LTC. Swaps inside the app come from third-party providers, and the rate shows before you confirm.
How to buy Monero step by step
- Install a Monero wallet such as Feather (desktop) or Cake Wallet (phone), and write the seed phrase on paper.
- Copy a fresh receiving address. Monero addresses are 95 characters long and start with 4 or 8.
- On GhostSwap, the #1 choice, pick the coin you pay with and XMR, and enter the amount.
- Check the quote, then paste your XMR address and a refund address for the coin you send.
- Send the deposit from a wallet you control and save the swap ID.
- Wait for the XMR. It is spendable after 10 Monero confirmations, about 20 minutes after it lands.
What changes in the EU in July 2027?
The EU anti-money-laundering regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, applies from 10 July 2027. Its Article 79 bars banks, financial institutions and crypto-asset service providers from keeping anonymous crypto accounts or accounts that allow transactions to be obscured, “including through anonymity-enhancing coins”. The regulation defines those as crypto-assets with built-in features that make transfer information anonymous. Monero fits that definition, and so does Zcash.
The rule targets regulated providers. Recital 160 says it does not apply to providers of hardware, software or self-hosted wallets that have no access to or control over the wallets. People can still hold XMR in their own wallets. Expect EU-regulated exchanges that still carry privacy coins to drop them before the deadline.
Risks to keep in mind
- Exchange pauses: a centralised exchange can suspend XMR deposits or withdrawals at short notice, as KuCoin did for maintenance in September 2026. Don’t keep XMR on an exchange longer than you need to.
- Wrong address: XMR sent to a wrong address cannot be recovered. Paste addresses and check the first and last characters.
- Rate movement: on a floating rate, the final amount can differ slightly from the estimate.
- Taxes: buying or swapping crypto can be a taxable event where you live.
FAQ
Where can I buy Monero in 2026?
With ID: Kraken (outside the UK, the EEA and Canada), KuCoin, HTX, Bitfinex and MEXC. Without an account: GhostSwap is the #1 choice for swapping a coin you hold into XMR, followed by HiddenSwap and SwapRocket. To pay with cash or a bank transfer, use Haveno / RetoSwap.
Which exchanges still list Monero?
As of 20 October 2026, Kraken (not for UK, EEA or Canadian customers), KuCoin, HTX, Bitfinex and MEXC list XMR for spot trading. Binance, Bybit and Bitget offer XMR futures only. Coinbase, Gemini, Bitstamp and the Crypto.com Exchange have no XMR market.
Is Monero legal?
Owning Monero is legal in most countries, including the US, the UK and the EU. Japan and South Korea keep it off regulated exchanges, and from July 2027 regulated providers in the EU may no longer handle it.
Why do exchanges delist Monero?
Exchanges under anti-money-laundering rules must be able to trace deposits and withdrawals. Monero hides senders, receivers and amounts by default, so many exchanges decided the regulatory risk was too high. Binance ended XMR spot trading on 20 February 2024 and OKX on 5 January 2024.
Will Monero be banned in the EU in 2027?
Owning it will not be banned. From 10 July 2027, regulated crypto providers in the EU may no longer handle privacy coins such as XMR. Self-hosted wallets are outside the rule.
How can I buy Monero without KYC?
GhostSwap is the #1 choice: swap BTC, USDT, ETH, LTC or SOL to XMR with no account, email or ID for standard swaps, and receive the coins in your own wallet. HiddenSwap and SwapRocket work the same way.
Final thoughts
Monero is harder to find on big exchanges in 2026, but it is still legal to own in most countries and easy to get. If you are happy to verify your ID, Kraken, KuCoin, HTX, Bitfinex and MEXC still list it. If you would rather skip the account, GhostSwap (ghostswap.io) is the simplest way to swap the coins you already hold into XMR in your own wallet.
