Biggest Misconceptions About Crypto: Hear From Our Compliance Experts

Main Takeaways

• Binance is launching a six-part video series that highlights our compliance experts and their views on how the company invests in this space.

• In the first video, Binance’s Compliance team busts the biggest misconceptions about the crypto and blockchain industry.

The crypto industry is maturing rapidly, and it is understandable that there are still misconceptions about the technology behind it. That’s why we reached out to some of our compliance team members to get their opinion on the blockchain industry and how they enable Binance to create freedom of money globally. 

This is Part 1 in a series of 6 blog posts where we will highlight leaders in our compliance team and get their views on various topics. 

The first topic we asked their insights on was: What are some of the biggest misconceptions about Binance and the crypto industry? Check out their responses in the video above.

The video features key leaders who are focused on making sure our business is compliant with complex and often unclear regulatory requirements around the world. Some of them also spend time working hand-in-hand with law enforcement agencies in multiple countries to make the world of crypto a safer place. 

In this video, Matt Price, Global Head of Intelligence & Investigations at Binance, highlights that one of the biggest myths is that crypto is anonymous and that allows for illicit activity. The truth is actually quite the opposite. The fact that the transactions are publicly and permanently recorded actually enables investigators. In contrast with traditional financial investigations, the transparent nature of crypto ends up making it easier for investigators to identify bad actors. 

Richard Teng, Binance’s Regional Head of Europe and MENA, rightly points out that the coverage of crypto and the blockchain industry in traditional media has been quite negative, with an impression that it is full of illicit money. But in reality, in the traditional fiat space, close to $800 billion to $2 trillion is laundered every year. Compare that to crypto, and the amount is a minuscule 0.03% of that.

Steve Christie, Senior VP of Compliance at Binance, also dispels the misconception about crypto being used by criminals and that it has no intrinsic value. He also points out in the video that the criminal elements in crypto are vastly overstated and that the vast majority of the activity that goes on in the industry is all about real investments and use cases, all of which have the potential to transform the global economy.

Tigran Gambaryan, Binance’s Head of Financial Crimes Compliance, goes straight to the point in the video when he highlights that crypto is probably the worst way to launder money. In contrast, cryptocurrency actually provides unparalleled transparency into transactions and allows law enforcement to do their work more efficiently. Tigran had worked in law enforcement before Binance and now works in the crypto industry – he brings a truly unique perspective in the video above.

Stay tuned for more insights from our experts in the weeks to come.