Chengpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance crypto exchange, has defended crypto against allegations of allowing sanctioned entities to evade fines. In recent times, several Russian individuals and organizations have made it onto the Sanctions List of many Western countries after Russia waged a war against Ukraine in February. World leaders are currently looking to the crypto sector to ensure that these sanctions are not violated through cryptocurrencies. Zhao has said in a tweet that crypto is terrible to avoid sanctions.
Asia’s richest man, Zhao, points out that while there is still room to trace crypto transactions, cash transactions can take place without leaving any trace.
Crypto is terrible at avoiding sanctions for one simple reason. It is traceable.
Cash on the other hand…
— CZ :large_orange_diamond: Binance (@cz_binance) March 30, 2022
According to recent reports, the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) were considering accepting crypto payments from Russia.
The move could have helped Russian crypto holders, especially the sanctioned entities, to liquidate their crypto assets in Thailand.
However, Thailand rejected the idea by banning the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment option for commodities and services from April 1.
Despite growing concerns about the rampant use of cryptocurrencies by criminal activities such as money laundering, fiat is still far ahead as the preferred choice for illegal activities.
The use of crypto assets for money laundering is still significantly less common than the use of fiat money and other more traditional means, according to recently released US government reports.
In the past month, several crypto exchanges operating out of the US were asked to freeze crypto wallets linked to sanctioned Russian entities.