The aforementioned economist Dr. Doom for its pessimistic macro forecasts, Nouriel Roubini described cryptocurrencies and some of the major players as a “totally corrupt ecosystem”.
In a panel on the occasion of theAbu Dhabi Finance Week on CNBCthe professor of the New York University said there were “seven Cs of the crypto world:”Concealed, corrupt, crooks, criminals, con men, carnival barkers,” (hidden, corrupt, swindlers, criminals, swindlers, carnival hucksters) and the last one, the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhaoalso known as CZ, who participated in the previous panel of the same conference.
“The lesson of the last few weeks is that these people should be out of hereRoubini added. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has not yet responded to Roubini’s comments.
The recent turbulence in the cryptocurrency market has seen the collapse of one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, FTXwith the revelation that the latter lent its customers’ funds to pay for very risky bets of the subsidiary, Alameda Research.
Following the news of FTX’s bankruptcy, the price of bitcoin fell below $17,000 for the first time since 2020, and some fear that the domino effect could spread to the point of eliminating other major players such as Crypto.com. The company’s CEO denied it earlier this week.
We also recall that Binance initially suggested buying rival FTX after the bankruptcy announcement and then withdrawing from the deal.
“I can’t believe that CZ and Binance have a license to operate in the UAE. It’s banned in the UK, it’s being investigated by the US Justice Department for money laundering,” Roubini said.
Roubini continued to criticize the Binance CEO, expressing his astonishment that “was on the same stage and has residency in the country“, referring to the United Arab Emirates. “Regulators should think carefully”Roubini continued. “It’s a time bomb.”
Binance receives clearance from Abu Dhabi regulators
Meanwhile, Binance received authorization for financial services by the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authorityl’Abu Dhabi Global Market.
Dubai, the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, gave the cryptocurrency exchange the green light earlier this year. In September, regulators upgraded the crypto exchange’s status from a provisional license to a minimum viable product license, which allowed it to offer a variety of virtual asset services to investors.
FTX had also planned to set up operations in Dubai, receiving a partial license from the Gulf emirate in March. The UAE has implemented a series of reforms and structures to become a crypto hub, even as other countries and governments have sounded the alarm about the risks of the sector at the same time.
In September, Reuters reported that in 2020, US federal prosecutors had asked Binance for internal anti-money laundering audit records, along with communications involving CZ. While the United Kingdom has prohibited the crypto platform from operating in the territory of the Kingdom. Countries have taken different attitudes towards the supervision of crypto companies given the strong growth of the sector in recent years.