China’s ‘The US hacks itself to make us look bad’ theorists return with a crypto conspiracy
Apparently Uncle Sam busted Binance to shore up the dollar, balance the budget, and achieve world domination
The Chinese agency that has accused the USA of cyberattacks on its own infrastructure to make Beijing look bad is back with another theory: Washington’s actions against cryptocurrency crooks are just attempts to dominate the global financial system.
The agency behind these theories is China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), which on Thursday published a document titled “Top Player: Analysis of Global Virtual Currency Assets Extortion under the U.S. Technological Hegemony.”
The gist of it is that US actions such as prosecuting Binance co-founder Zhao Changpeng and chasing alleged cyber-scam camp operator Chen Zhi were not law enforcement actions but attempts to ensure US hegemony over cryptocurrencies and preserve the role of the US dollar as the de facto currency of world trade.
Even US president Donald Trump’s decision to pardon Zhao – which the commander in chief admitted he made without knowing anything about the case – was just a cunning ploy to ensure Binance complied with US law in future so Washington gains more power over global crypto markets.
CVERC says the US also targeted crypto outfits to profit by collecting massive fines and auctioning stolen cryptocurrencies retrieved by American authorities. It also accuses Washington of using action against cryptocurrencies to build a strategic reserve of virtual currencies, a Trump administration policy.
The Chinese agency says Washington’s action against crypto companies is just one of its tactics, including “sponsored cyberattacks, weaponized technical standards, and digital cognitive warfare” that “serves its global expansion of political and economic interests while maintaining global hegemony.”
The document neglects to mention the inconvenient fact that China has extradited and arrested Chen Zhi – and issued death sentences for others associated with scam camps in Cambodia. Nor does it consider that the proceeds of crypto cases brought by the US Federal government represent a tiny fraction of the nation’s budget.
CVERC’s screed ends by noting China’s stance on cryptocurrency – they’re dangerous and therefore illegal – and contrasting that with a suggestion the US could exercise extra-territorial jurisdiction to seize crypto anywhere, anytime.
Reality is, of course, rather more nuanced. The US has gone after suspected crypto-crooks outside its territory using well-established international procedures. However, the Trump administration has eased regulation on crypto companies, a contentious action as the Trump family has profited from its own virtual currency ventures. ®