ShapeShift boss slams WSJ crypto exchanges/illicit funds report

ShapeShift CEO, Erik Voorhees, has hit out at the Wall Street Journal after it published an article claiming that $88.6 million in ill-gotten funds has been laundered through 46 cryptocurrency exchanges. $9 million of this, the newspaper reports, went through ShapeShift.

“We are aware of the poorly-researched piece written against us by someone at WSJ. The implications are disingenuous and misleading,” Voorhees tweeted.

“Author cherry-picked data, excluding facts contrary to vilification narrative. $9m figure is less than 0.2% of our volume over the time-period. Meanwhile global money laundering through banks is 2-5%. Op-ed forthcoming,” he added.

Blurred lines

Coin Rivet interviewed Voorhees back in June. The global regulatory climate is the most difficult obstacle for nearly all crypto companies, he told us. “This (blockchain) technology blurs many lines, is borderless, and fundamentally changes how money and value operate. Regulatory agencies do not have the humility to recognise their own ignorance, so they often try to pigeonhole crypto into various buckets,” he said.

“At best, these buckets hinder progress, and at worst, they prevent entire companies from forming or building. A great wealth of innovation never occurs because many entrepreneurs are too scared of regulators, or simply don’t have millions of dollars to spend on lawyers. Of course, all the status quo legacy financial companies love regulations, and use them as a competitive moat to prevent new market participants from disrupting their business model.”

“We are going to continue to develop and build digital products that delight, protect, empower and inspire those around us, and continue to advocate against archaic regulations and the unethical financial foundation of centrally-controlled fiat currencies,” he concluded.

Read the full interview here.