BoldWe came on the premise of decentralisation. The crypto space was hailed as revolutionary and for the free. Exchanges came on the premise of support, and we believed they also pushed the decentralisation agenda.

Then came the first test, in form of loads and loads of money. The exchanges were making so much from this that we wondered if they wouldn't get greedy and simply start manipulating the market for themselves. They did, and perhaps we overlooked the first signs of greed and took it as nothing. After all, centralized exchanges are businesses and the aim of every business is to make profits.

Where we Did start to get wary though was when regulators started getting interested in the space and started making demands of these exchanges. The biggest ones were obviously too profitable to risk heavy fines or a potential shutdown (if possible) so they complied with mandatory ID verifications and all.

The one that I recently found out though (because I have not experienced it), is that these exchanges have been freezing users accounts for indefinite periods for one reason or the other. Coinbase I hear is the biggest culprit followed by Binance. Of course 'suspicious activities' are always the excuse for taking such actions, but it baffles me how much such a move is in sharp contrast to what the premise of blockchain technology stands for.

No doubt, fraud and money laundering are major causes for concern on the blockchain. Yet, is this the best way to tackle such an issue? I was hoping that we'd have more sophisticated ways of fighting cybercrime with a sophisticated technology like this, but it doesn't seem the exchanges are as committed to improving technology as they are to making profits.

Lots of people are already moving off the largest exchanges, right from the verification periods. One thing is certain, people recognize actions that are not in our best interest and will react accordingly. Lots of people already have moved from the largest exchanges, and perhaps more will continue to do so.

Conclusion

Crypto is about decentralisation and handing economic power back to the people. Anything less than that is a facade . I understand that this wouldn't come overnight and a process is involved, and that we seriously need to address issues involving cybercrime on the blockchain. Notwithstanding, moves must be made to ensure we don't simply start offering more of the same.