BitMEX Co-Founder Criticizes U.S. Judicial System for Unfairness, Cites Famous Financial Scandals in Support of Binance and CZ

As a "veteran" in the field, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes criticizes the unfairness of the U.S. justice system, citing past well-known financial scandals, and claims he completely fails to understand why CZ and Binance are being heavily penalized.

$10 million bail! Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes surrenders, claiming accusations are baseless

Is Zhao Changpeng Being Targeted for His Class Error?

Arthur Hayes pointed out in his article that Binance, founded in 2017, has become the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform within just six years. Its daily trading volume might even rank among the top ten globally compared to all exchanges.

However, founder Zhao Changpeng, also known as CZ, was once an unknown figure a few years ago, a seemingly insignificant Chinese-Canadian. This poses a significant challenge to traditional financial and political institutions:

This renowned blockchain intermediary is not operated by their class members.

Binance Knows the Law, So the Fine is Justified

Arthur Hayes believes that from a fundamental perspective, cryptocurrency exchanges, through the use of tools such as nations, corporations, and legal structures, have escaped the mechanisms that should operate within the global financial and political systems. CZ ultimately paid a heavy price for these illegal activities.

But how much did CZ pay? CZ and Binance were fined a record $4.3 billion, the highest corporate fine in U.S. history.

He finds this somewhat unsettling.

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng agreed to resign, pleaded guilty, and Binance was fined $4.3 billion.

List of Past Notable Financial Scandals

Arthur Hayes listed a series of past financial scandals to emphasize that the fines imposed on CZ and Binance are exorbitant:

Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's Involvement in 1MDB Corruption Case

During his tenure as CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein's company was involved in fundraising projects for the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund in Malaysia, which was suspected of corruption and money laundering.

According to reports, Goldman Sachs was fined $2.3 billion and returned about $600 million in improper gains to settle the case.

However, Lloyd Blankfein retired with his stock holdings intact, and Goldman Sachs faced no criminal charges.

Bank Executives' Safety Net During the 2008 Financial Crisis

During the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, banking institutions packaged mortgages as financial products, leading to the most severe global financial crisis since the Great Depression, yet no bank CEO faced criminal prosecution.

Arthur Hayes stated that prosecuting these individuals could jeopardize the banking system, hence granting them a free pass.

HSBC's Seven-Year Money Laundering for Terrorists and Drug Traffickers

According to reports, HSBC Bank was accused by the U.S. in 2012 of long-term money laundering involving Mexican drug cartels, Iran, Sudan, sanctioned countries, and banks associated with the Middle East and terrorist groups over seven years.

It was finally fined $1.92 billion.

Arthur Hayes commented:

So, why is a company less than a decade old so popular? Is Binance really that massive and corrupt? That its crimes outweigh those of any bank in U.S. history, some of which have existed for centuries? Clearly, the treatment of CZ and Binance is absurd, highlighting the arbitrariness of U.S. judicial punishment.

Cryptocurrency Is One of the Most Important Developments in Politics and Fintech

Arthur Hayes concludes by once again translating this event into bullish momentum for cryptocurrencies.

What does this absurd incident tell us? Cryptocurrency is one of the most significant developments in political, financial, and technological history. We are attempting to build a voluntary, non-coercive parallel financial and economic system. It is so revolutionary that a person like CZ can become one of the world's richest individuals in less than a decade, and his company can be more integrated into daily life than traditional financial institutions that have existed for centuries. If after seeing how much effort a country has put into targeting CZ and Binance, you still don't want to invest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, I don't know what else you need to see.