Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of volume, has made it easier for most investors to enter this industry. With its accessible application from almost anywhere in the world, it helped increase adoption during the 2017-2018 bull season. In the subsequent bull run, it remained the preferred choice for investors to trade with cryptocurrencies. But what will happen now?
Binance and Cryptocurrencies
First and foremost, Binance is not ending its operations. In fact, it is able to clear the mines on its path and move forward more confidently, as it is freed from regulatory pressure. The departure of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao from the platform and the company’s continuation of its operations imply that the Biden administration indirectly legitimizes cryptocurrencies.
Why did Satoshi Nakamoto remain anonymous? If his identity were known and recognized by everyone today, the narrative of decentralization and the effort to create an alternative to traditional finance would not have garnered the expected attention. Cryptocurrency started anonymously but eventually transformed into an industry dominated by powerful figures. SBF, Do Kwon, Zhu Su, Alex, and many more. CZ was not one of them and, as confirmed by the court, did not defraud his investors.
The US did not impose the worst penalty on Binance, which operates in the gray area and has made mistakes in the past. During a period when governments did not pay enough attention to cryptocurrencies, Binance disregarded laws for rapid growth. However, now CZ is facing the consequences of past mistakes (which should not be considered as crimes like committing murder against the US) and has gone to court to pay the price.
Collapse or Bull Market?
So, what will happen next? This agreement, which is far from being just an inconvenience, could be the driving force for the cryptocurrency industry to realign with its original ethics. The future of cryptocurrency should not be dictated by an elite minority; Satoshi’s vision should be recognized again. A digital finance industry that is anonymous, decentralized, and free from prominent powerful figures.
Who cares about the paragraph above? Who wants decentralized finance? Most investors in the crypto space are willing to invest in useless meme coins because their main, if not only, motivation is to make money. So, after the Binance incident, we will not see a world where the philosophy of crypto’s inception and ideals come to the forefront.
So, what will we see? Most likely, next year we will witness institutional investors pumping more than $50 billion into the markets initially, triggering a massive rally along with ETF approvals. With the issues surrounding Binance resolved, institutional players may become bolder. In the end, we will see more exploitations triggering another bull market and then similar events repeating.
