In a recent interview, Michael Gromek, the co-chairperson of the Digital Asset Task Force, which is an international committee to fight various financial crimes, commented on the crimes associated with cryptocurrencies.
At the Future Blockchain Summit, the first and largest blockchain summit in the Middle East, held in Dubai, Gromek raised his opinion on the much-talked-about and much-concerning issue. He believes that cryptocurrencies are not a hideout for illegal activities as transactions are traceable.
Gromek’s statement comes when several privacy coins, like DASH, XMR, ZEC, ZEN, etc., have been suspected as foul by the regulators, followed by certain exchanges banning them. The U.S. Treasury’s office of foreign assets control (OFAC) banned the popular Ethereum-based privacy tool Tornado Cash for facilitating money-laundering transactions, especially to the hackers in North Korea.
According to him, it is wrong to believe that the transactions conducted on the blockchain can act as a cover-up for fraudulent practices as most of the suspected transactions can be tracked, including the ones with pseudo-anonymous currencies. While stating figures from various reports, he said that approximately only 0.15% of all blockchain transactions are illegal and reported as illicit.
While mentioning the efficiency of the Digital Asset Task Force in tackling the suspected crimes, he said that with the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and the use of know-your-customer (KYC) data from the exchanges, it has become relatively easy. He also mentioned that even the coins referred to as privacy coins like Monero (XMR) and their use of complex codes to hide wallet addresses are not exempted from law enforcement bodies.
As a suggestion to the investors in the cryptocurrency market, Gromek said that the illegal practitioners could be taken care of in various ways; however, that does not mean ease on the part of the investors. Investors need to be aware, conscious, and vigilant before investing to avoid scamming or falling prey to hackers. They should monitor the risk involved in any project and only entertain trading organizations that comply with the rules and regulations.