Cryptocurrencies are easier to track than fiat money, and there are far fewer financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies than fiat money. This opinion was expressed by the former US Attorney at the ongoing Money 20/20 conference.
Former US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who has 20 years of experience at the Department of Justice, advises everyone to get rid of the misconception about the “criminal nature” of cryptocurrency.
In her opinion, cryptocurrency is no more a fraudulent instrument than fiat assets. In addition, you can track the movement of digital currency on the network using “commercially available” tools, such as Elliptic and Chainalysis. As paradoxical as it may sound, the ability to track cryptocurrency transactions, while undermining the very basis of digital currencies, nevertheless strengthens the trust of the public, regulators and law enforcement agencies in the new financial system as a whole.
Another issue is that regulators and law enforcement agencies are simply not ready for productive work with digital assets and lag behind innovative technologies. Modern legislative frameworks are not suitable for introducing cryptocurrency into life and do not take into account its features. Most often, instead of a detailed study and reworking of legislation to suit the phenomena of the new existing reality, one can observe a ban or an attempt to apply existing financial and legal standards introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century, during the formation of the stock market.
However, the situation in the formation of the crypto industry now resembles the events of the period of formation and legislative registration of the securities market.
Mary Beth Buchanan herself has been actively involved in the cryptocurrency sphere for the last 5 years, in particular as a legal consultant at Kraken. The ex-prosecutor believes that cryptocurrencies act as a tool for the cost-effective transfer of values on a global scale.
Mary Beth is sure that fiat is much more often involved in criminal activity, which is confirmed by statistics.
According to Cointelegraph, the amount spent on the purchase of drugs in the United States alone amounted to $100 billion, while the total amount of cryptocurrency transactions related to illegal activities for the same year was about $72 billion.
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