Many On Wall Street Would Be Jailed If Traditional Firms Were Given The Same Treatment As Binance

Said Columbia Business School adjunct professor Omid Malekan.

I can't say I hate Binance as I can't also say I entirely love the company but what I can say is that it has played a pivotal role in enhancing inclusivity in the cryptocurrency market across the globe - dare I to say that really also improves the level of decentralization within the space.

I mean, it's crypto, how does this decentralization thing we speak of work exactly? Oh one has to own a token? Oh great, but what happens when the vast majority(the rest of the world) cannot get their hands on these tokens?

Regional centralization? But I'm sure bitcoin maxis can write up a theory to make it “decentralized” regardless. It's nothing new, it's the drive for superiority and dominance that gives birth to a deluded mind.

If Binance goes burst, there goes billions in Bitcoin volume, but sure, someone will dream up a functional decentralized exchange within three hours to step in - imagined the maxi - but it's been how many years? And it's pretty clear that the domination, security and functionality of decentralized exchanges are still far fetched as fiat still lacks direct ties to the blockchain, hence, in a business still dominated by fiat, a centralized system is needed to facilitate on and off ramps.

Recent events surrounding the crypto exchange Binance sparked significant debate about the United States’ crackdown on crypto firms. According to Omid Malekan, adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and author, the Department of Justice’s approach in the case is very different from what is seen in traditional finance.

“People who sincerely believe that crypto is some unique enabler of bad people doing bad things don’t understand how the rest of the financial system actually works,” Malekan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding that companies that follow Anti-Money Laundering best practices still process large sums of illicit funds. “But that’s all considered OK because somebody did the paperwork.”

To the vast majority of us here, this isn't news, it really doesn't cause any form of excitement because we've been discussing this for quite a while now.

Regular day to day crypto users may be careless with their use of these technologies but high profile criminals, we'd expect, are smarter than this. Cash is still the king when it comes to moving illicit money and the traditional finance system, really is a step up for illicit cash transactions, given the corruption within the establishment.

But wait wait wait wait. If Binance is charged with facilitating illegal funds, shouldn't an associated bank be charged as well? We sure as hell know that before money gets into crypto, it has to go through fiat, so what gives?

Oh oh, that's right, so long as the firm did the necessary paperwork, facilitating illegal funds becomes acceptable.

But it's all purposeful. Kill the competition so the complying exchanges(like Coinbase) can dominate the cryptocurrency market, is this a regional centralization of say bitcoin being attempted?

Oh I forgot, bitcoin is proof of work, so the coins really don't matter but still, what's the play and who is the bookmaker?

Anyone thought yet why exchanges like FTX and individuals behind them are yet to be given what they deserve but the poor Asian exchange has quickly been forced to comply?

Can't say I feel any pity for Binance but what's there to note is that the US government is pulling some interesting cards here as crypto as an industry, despite the fact that the stablecoin market is basically an extension of the dollar can actually threaten the strength and dominance of the it's economy.

Posted Using InLeo Alpha