The recent developments that have shaken the Binance cryptocurrency exchange have brought significant debates about the pressure applied by the US government on crypto companies. Omid Malekan, an assistant professor and author at Columbia Business School, stated that the approach of the US Department of Justice in this process is different from the investigations conducted in traditional financial markets.
Malekan shared his comments on the subject via the X social media platform. Those who truly believe that cryptocurrencies offer a unique opportunity for malicious individuals with malicious intentions do not understand how the rest of the financial system works. Even companies that follow best practices continue to engage in illegal fund transactions on a large scale. However, if someone completes the paperwork, this situation is considered normal.
Malekan also claimed that if similar investigations were conducted on traditional institutions in similar situations, many people from Wall Street could go to jail. If Binance had been subjected to the same investigation methods applied to traditional institutions, hundreds of CEOs could have been imprisoned, and there would have been less money left for share buybacks. However, bankers were smart enough not to question the game.
Despite the allegations of lying to its customers, Malekan believes that accusing Binance is not correct. Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao reached a $4.3 billion agreement with the US government over allegations that the exchange allowed the transfer of “stolen funds” to individuals engaged in illegal activities.
CZ confirmed that he resigned from the CEO position as part of this agreement and will not have any role in the company. Malekan also highlighted Binance’s contributions in recent years in terms of financial inclusion and emphasized that Binance has achieved something that the world’s compliant financial institutions have chronically failed to do, which is to include millions of poor and financially underserved individuals in the financial system.