Binance CEO says cryptocurrencies are ‘terrible for avoiding sanctions’
Chengpeng Zhao, CEO of popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance believes that cryptocurrencies are terrible for evading sanctions. This statement comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has called for global sanctions imposed US and its allies. However, it was believed that Russian oligarchs were using crypto to evade sanctions.
In a tweet, Zhao said cryptocurrencies are “terrible for avoiding sanctions”. He said the reason is simple: “It is traceable.”
In a recent interview with CNN, he said using crypto to avoid sanctions is a myth. “If you look at the data, nobody smart does that. Crypto is to traceable, the governments around the world are increasingly very good at tracking crypto transactions. So crypto is not good for that.”
Binance had stated that it will not ban Russian users transacting on the platform, it would not accept transactions from cards issued banks under sanction. Zhao told Bloomberg that it is freezing the accounts of Russians targeted international sanctions. However, the exchange will not keep all Russians from accessing its platform. “Binance follows sanctions rules very strictly. Whoever is on the sanctions l, they won’t be able to use our platform, for whoever is not, they can,” Zhao said in an interview. Expanding restrictions beyond the l of sanctioned individuals would be “unethical for us to do,” he noted.
Speaking about the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that Binance is against any politicians, dictators that starts the wars. “We’re not against the people. There are many people on both sides of Ukraine and Russia that are suffering. And we are we want to help those people,” he said in an interview with CNN. Notably, Binance became the first crypto company to pledge $10 million to help Ukraine refugees.
In other news, Zhao told Fortune that he is not a big fan of non-fungible-tokens (NFTs). He thinks that NFT craze is ‘bonkers’ and “people have lost their mind”.
Meanwhile, Binance is recruiting over 100 positions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is helping to shape Dubai’s new virtual assets’ regulations, its regional head said. Binance’s links with the Gulf state have deepened in recent months as the UAE tries to style itself as the world’s new digital assets hub and develops regulation.
