In a recent CNBC interview, US Senator Elizabeth Warren blamed cryptocurrencies for the country’s problems such as terrorism and rogue state financing.
This is in line with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s call to shut down the cryptocurrency industry.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, said:
“If I were the government, I would have shut it down. I have always been deeply opposed to cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, etc. The only real use cases for this are for criminals: drug traffickers, anti-money laundering, tax evasion, etc. “This is the use case.”
However, Chainalytic’s on-chain analysis contradicts this, showing that less than 0.2% of cryptocurrencies are used for illicit finance.
Screenshot taken from Chainalytic:
Cryptocurrency as a disruptive influence
Despite this data, Senator Warren claims that cryptocurrencies finance terrorism, launder money, and support rogue states, ignoring the prevalence of such activities in cash transactions.
Senator Elizabeth Warren said:
“There is a new threat. Cryptocurrencies are being used to finance terrorism and drug trafficking. “We cannot allow this to continue.”
Senator Warren’s position reflects that of many bank CEOs who see decentralized currencies, especially Bitcoin, as a threat to people’s control over their finances.
JPMorgan, the second-largest bank with a history of significant penalties and fines, has paid out nearly $40 billion for 272 violations over the past two decades, most of which occurred while Dimon was CEO.
Nonetheless, the bank launched its own JPM crypto token on the Ethereum blockchain.
Challenges of the cryptocurrency industry
The apparent double standards in the handling of banking and cryptocurrencies in the United States highlight a broader problem of misinformation.
This raises concerns about potential regulatory bias against the cryptocurrency industry, impacting its growth and acceptance.