Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has confirmed that Monero (XMR) will not be listed on the exchange in the near future due to concerns raised by regulators regarding privacy coins. Armstrong was interviewed on July 24 on the “What Bitcoin Did” podcast. 

Armstrong, who recently said that he was a fan of privacy coins, told podcast host Peter McCormack that Coinbase was being careful of the addition of new assets, being conservative and establishing itself as a legitimate exchange for the long run.

On the upside, Armstrong said that once privacy coins passed regulatory examinations, the exchange may consider listing them. He said,

I think with enough time and education, people will get comfortable enough with it. Privacy coins will become more mainstream over time I hope, and maybe more privacy solutions on Bitcoin too.

The XMR token is the most popular privacy token on the market, with a market cap of roughly $1.427 billion. The asset has come under the radar for allegedly being used in financing criminal activity and/or illegal purchases. Monero completely shields transaction information through the use of non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs, also called “bulletproofs.” 

Armstrong is not the only one to show concern about privacy technologies in the mainstream drawing the attention of regulators. Bitcoin (BTC) advocate, entrepreneur and author Andreas Antonopoulos has also said that more privacy for Bitcoin might generate controversy.