Hours after it was announced that Credit Suisse is to pay US$2.6 billion in fines for aiding tax evasion, the former director of the United States Mint has spoken out against the bank – and in support of cryptocurrencies.
While Credit Suisse’s director, Brady, publicly downplayed the result, saying the fines “[did not have] any material impact on our operational or business capabilities”, Edmund C. Moy tweeted in response:
“$2.6B fine 'won't do much damage': Credit Suisse CEO. It's time banks got competition. Time for cryptocurrencies.”
Critical support
Such a reaction from within the government's financial framework may come as an unprecedented surprise to many, and is perhaps proof that the Credit Suisse case underlines a growing consensus that the banking system is falling out of favor and is losing its allies in the process.
CNBC reports that the fine was a “careful balance” between the Justice Department and bank regulators, as “prosecutors did not want the action to lead to repercussions that could destabilize the bank or the wider financial system.”
However this tactic's efficacy is wearing increasingly thin and the “arrogance from the CEO” of Credit Suisse, as one respondent to Moy’s tweet wrote, has been shown to be a mentality which the community is now no longer interested in entertaining.
While the indicted bank has certainly not escaped entirely unharmed, its name is sharing a cell with the likes of Drexel Burnham Lambert and Enron; it is with great interest that we saw a reaction which not only decries the banks, but furthermore advocates cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
With the potential for such names to lend themselves to currencies’ propagation, there could be interesting times ahead and their development now appears more certain than ever.
Expert's opinion:
This should not surprise anyone, and more support for cryptocurrencies is to be expected. This is the first time we had a financial technology that 1) competes with banks and credit cards, and 2) provide cryptographic proof of reserves, and 3) separates the ability to spend from the ability to audit (allowing public and real time audits of finaicial transactions). Certainly, banks might not like the competition. But the U.S. Mint isn't a bank. Why would Edmund May, by virtue of his former position with the U.S. Mint, care about competition to banks? - Paul Snow
Edmund Moy's criticism, although a bit unexpected, is the natural reaction anyone would have that understands the monetary freedom that cryptocurrencies provide. Competition in capitalism is an essential factor that allows for human choice. The absence of competition lends way to bad actors, making bad decisions, because they can. Cryptocurrencies provide competition for banks in a way the world has never seen before. - Lamar Wilson
"Credit Suisse takes a public stance not of contrition, repentence and assuring the public it will never happen again, but instead reassures its clients that the crimes committed on their behalf will be a net benefit to their investments. We need to understand that 'too big to jail' makes institutions more daring in their financial escapades". Matthew Slater