India's MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar Reacts to Binance and Changpeng Zhao Debacle

“Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disrupter. It makes you a criminal,” said Chandrasekhar in a post on X.

Written by Radhika Parashar, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 November 2023 17:28 IST

India's MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar Reacts to Binance and Changpeng Zhao Debacle

Photo Credit: Facebook/ Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Rajeev Chandrasekhar has lauded India’s gradual approach on engaging with cryptos

Highlights

Rajeev Chandrasekhar calls tech exploiters ‘criminals’
Warns crypto firms against getting involved in illegal activities
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down from his role

Rajeev Chandrasekhar has reacted strongly to Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao's admission to having violated US' anti-money laundering laws. Chandrasekhar, who is the Union Minister of State for electronics and technology, has warned crypto firms against misusing technology to flout laws and accomplish illegal activities. The warning comes in the backdrop of India still awaiting the execution timeline for the crypto roadmap that has been agreed upon to be adopted by all G20 member nations.

In the early hours of Tuesday, November 21, Zhao announced that he was stepping down from his role at the crypto exchange, touted as the biggest in the world. As per the SEC, Binance broke US' anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. This led the firm ad Zhao to hide over 100,000 suspicious transactions with organisations like Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, all of which are recognised as terrorist groups.

Reacting to the development, Chandrasekhar said that the Indian government's gradual approach towards inviting the crypto sector in, has kept India's investor community safeguarded against market meltdown events like the collapse of FTX last year that had wiped out over $200 billion (roughly Rs. 16,66,428 crore) from the crypto market.

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“Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disrupter. It makes you a criminal,” he added.

Lesson to be learnt from Binance, FTX and other "crypto" companies

“Using new technology to break the law does not make you a disrupter. It makes you a criminal,”

PM @narendramodi ji govts approach since 2022 to deterring crypto speculation has saved countless Indians from… https://t.co/9h18YAXyA4
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) November 22, 2023

Emerging among the heftiest corporate penalties in the US history, Zhao has agreed to a $4.3 billion (roughly Rs. 35,828 crore) settlement deal in a Seattle court including a personal payout of $50 million (roughly Rs. 416 crore) to close the matter.

In the aftermath of the Zhao debacle, most cryptocurrencies stepped into the trading rink today reeling under losses.

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Binance's own native BNB token plunged by 11 percent within hours of Zhao pleading guilty to have violated US's anti money laundering policies.

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Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Changpeng Zhao, Binance

Radhika Parashar

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Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More