Big banks. Who even needs them anymore, right? Well, unfortunately, a lot of us still do and a lot of those who haven't dived into the realm of crypto still do as well. Banks are trying to take advantage of this fact and began blocking users from purchasing cryptocurrency. This is happening all throughout the world with the one main tagline in play, "We are protecting our users' privacy and/or funds by stopping payments and withdrawals to and from [crypto exchange] until further notice.".
It's your hard-earned money. Shouldn't you be able to use it as you please, whenever you please? Are we back to getting an allowance from our parents (employer) and them (bank holding paycheck) telling us what we can and can't spend it on? That doesn't sound very fun or right at all. Banks protecting their users should be their number one priority of course, but is this some extreme FUD driven by them to tank the market and fill up their own crypto wallets? Or do the banks know something that we don't? Let's talk about the recent incident with Binance, for example.
This sudden panic could come from Binance not really being headquartered anywhere in the world... officially at least. Changpeng Zhao, more popularly known as "CZ", is at the forefront of this madness lately as the CEO of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The U.K. has revoked Binance's right to operate or even advertise in their nation. Barclays and Santander have blocked payments to the exchange.
Have you wondered why there is Binance and Binance.us? Well, apparently, they aren't even the same company. Just the same name (besides the .us obviously) and logo operated by BAM Trading Services. Binance.us is just a mere fraction of what actual Binance has to offer in regards to various different cryptos and purchasing options. But why? The U.S. Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service would be to blame for this. They have been investigating Binance for quite some time now, long before banks began banning transactions to the platform. This is due to the suspicion that there's some money laundering and tax evasion going on. I wouldn't be surprised if the Securities and Exchange Commission is searching for everything they can to sue as well.
The investigation is still ongoing and nothing has really come of it as of writing this blog. Either way, it's still turning the heads of global leaders around the world.
To the eyes of the avid DeFi warrior, the privacy of the user should be the sole responsibility of the user themselves and no one else. This trustless world has really changed the mindsets of hundreds of millions of individuals around the globe. Our thought process of putting all of our money into a big bank is beginning to dwindle away as the years go by. This is simply due to the fact that people aren't really trusting the operations of banks anymore.
Does this stem from a bank failing tremendously and losing user funds recently? Not necessarily. I believe people are just getting fed up about having a middleman not only hold on to but control how their money flows in and out of their accounts. We all work very hard for our income and we are all adults... why would we let anyone tell us what to do with our cash?
Purely speculation, but the banks could be using this tactic to cause mass panic selling throughout the market so they can grab a piece of the pie. Maybe Binance isn't what it's hyped up to be. At this point, who knows, as we can only watch from the outside. Regardless, the world is beginning to understand the importance of decentralization more and more each day. Push back from major banks isn't only expected, but necessary to keep themselves profitable as well. They will do everything they can to save themselves before they collapse.
At the end of the day, will the power of the people win or will big banks defeat the average individual once again?
Thanks so much for reading my blog today! If you would like to contribute to the conversation, don't be shy! Leave a comment and keep the discussion going.
As always, none of this was financial advice and was made purely for educational purposes only. Please do your own research!
