Regarding the settlement between Binance and CZ and U.S. regulators, Omid Malekan, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, said that the U.S. Department of Justice’s approach in this case is completely different from that in the traditional financial field. Some people don’t understand how the rest of the financial system actually works, and companies that follow anti-money laundering best practices are still handling large amounts of illicit funds. But it was all considered okay because someone did the paperwork.
Omid Malekan said that if traditional companies were treated the same as Binance in similar cases, many people on Wall Street would be jailed. If regulators were held to the same standard they are treating Binance, Wall Street would have hundreds of managing directors in jail and less money for shareholder buybacks (or lobbying). But the bankers were smart enough to never question the game.
Omid Malekan also praised Binance for its contribution to inclusive finance in the past few years: “Binance has done a great job in helping tens of millions of poor people, people of color, and other disadvantaged groups enter the financial system. This is a global partnership. something regulated financial firms have long failed to do.” (Cointelegraph)