” You have to break the myth that cryptocurrencies are only used for criminal activities or illicit purposes, such as money laundering and terrorist financing, ” said Bryan Benson, managing director of Binance.
The director of the exchange of bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies made this statement during his intervention in the panel “Evolution and development of the crypto industry with Binance in Latam”, in the meeting Jalisco Talent Land 2021. The dialogue space was composed of David Yao, Maximiliano Hinz García and Mariángel García. The latter performs as community manager in Binance and was the moderator of the meeting.
Regarding Benson’s words, David Yao, Binance’s director of operations in Mexico, reminded Michael Morell, former director of the U.S. Intelligence Agency. UU. (CIA), who maintains that bitcoin is an effective tool to combat organized crime due, among other things, to the traceability of operations.
Benson pointed out that, because of this misconception, is that in some banks in Latin America and some regulators, the idea “blockchain maybe, but cryptocurrencies never”is present. Anyway, Benson considers this it is shifting, little by little, to ” blockchain yes and cryptocurrencies, maybe”.
Everything is going to come together at some point and the best technology to make transactions or save with that money is going to win. ( … ) For me it is super exciting to be a part of it because it is going to change the lives of many people not only in Venezuela, but also in Argentina, who suffered that process of hyperinflation, but they are still incredible places with wonderful people.
Bryan Benson, managing director of Binance.
Then Maximiliano Hinz, director of operations of Binance in Argentina, took the floor to complement this idea. He said that the use of cryptocurrencies will revolutionize technology. According to him, there are still many who still have no idea, so he invited those interested to join the ecosystem, to start getting to know the concepts and to be part of the cryptocurrency community as users and developers.
The managing director of Binance highlights the fact that bitcoin is not related to a particular governmentbut it’s a technology. “My message is to continue with this technology, whether with Binance or another exchange, because this is changing the world,” he said. He added that it is not too late yet because, he says, “less than 1% of humanity has cryptocurrencies.”
Yao took the opportunity to tell that, in Mexico, Binance has a free educational center for cryptocurrency users. He says, ” that’s a great source to start getting to know the ecosystem.” In addition, he mentioned the Binance Card as an example of a tool that facilitates the user experience with cryptoassets.
Challenges to develop to generalize the use of bitcoin
Mariángel García asked the panel the question about: “what can be done to generalize the use of cryptocurrencies?”. The first to make his voice heard was Maximilian Hinz. In his opinion, work should continue on access to cryptocurrencies and democratize it. It thus refers to making it accessible to all.
For example, he said that in Argentina there is a case of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that developed a digital identity on blockchain.
We realize that when there is more access, there is more use and when there is more use there is a multiplier factor in the economy and economies grow. This is going to lead to us growing up. Obviously for that we have to make the laws help us so that the rules of the game are clear to all.
Maximiliano Hinz, director of operations of Binance in Argentina.
Regarding Satoshi Nakamoto’s adoption of cryptocurrency, Hinz recalled that now bitcoin is legal tender in El Salvador, but for the Argentine Central Bank it is a digital asset that is not currency. This has given rise to a discussion in Argentina about whether bitcoin should be classified as a foreign currency or a digital asset.
Hinz used this data as an example to explain that, according to him, we must generate a legal framework that allows us to help the entire industry grow and the cryptocurrency ecosystem. “Not just us as an exchange but the industry, in general, must have a framework where it is allowed to grow in a healthy and predictable way perhaps,” he added.
After Hinz’s intervention, Benson spoke again, referring to what happened in El Salvador. There, he said, arrived “some supergringos” who met President Nayib Bukele and began making transactions with bitcoin and shortly after they launched a law that everyone is talking about.
“I think it’s going to be very curious for me, from the point of view [como directivo] from Binance, and from the point of view of the region, to see if the bitcoin adoption process in El Salvador is successful and if it needs to be a more measured process, we can also learn from that. I think it’s very difficult to couple the pace of the cryptocurrency world with the rest of the world because the cryptocurrency world evolves every day, it’s 24 x 7, 365 days a year.”
Bryan Benson, managing director, Binance
Binance had regulatory setbacks in the UK
The regulations to cryptocurrencies, which were referenced in the talk, are well known to Binance. The exhcange has had “run-ins” with regulators in different parts of the world.
For example, the UK’s financial watchdog, known as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), banned Binance from carrying out certain financial activities, for example, trading bitcoin derivatives, as CriptoNoticias reported. Days after that happened, the exchange assured the FCA that it will adopt a “collaborative approach” to work based on that country’s legislation.