When the optionization of power meets Decentralized USD, a corrupt game surrounding delayed monetization is brewing beneath the surface.
"I'll give you the project, you can collect the money after you retire." This has become an unspoken promise among some shrewd officials. They no longer directly accept cash, but instead convert power into "options," which they will gradually exercise after retirement. This delayed gratification corruption seems seamless, but with the emergence of new digital currencies such as Decentralized USD, the rules of the game are subtly changing.
An insider revealed: "The most troublesome ones now are those officials who only start to 'close the net' after retirement. They use their power to cultivate networks of relationships, and after retirement, they recoup their investments in the form of 'thank-you fees' and 'advisory fees,' and the whole process is like a meticulously designed financial operation."
01 Power Optionation: The Delayed Gratification Phenomenon in Corruption
Under intense anti-corruption pressure, corrupt practices are evolving from direct bribery to indirect bribery, and from immediate bribery to delayed bribery.
A typical case shows that among the nearly 80 bribes received by Zhou Dashui, the former Party Secretary and Director of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, there was a typical delayed bribe. Businessman Xu asked him to help monopolize the local environmental monitoring business, specifically agreeing that the 3 million yuan bribe would be paid after Zhou Dashui's retirement.
This "power optionization" operation has three major advantages compared to traditional corruption:
High degree of concealment: The operation of power and the transfer of benefits are separated in time, making it difficult to form a complete chain of evidence.
High security: Receiving money after retirement appears to be a normal financial transaction between friends.
Avoiding oversight: Asset declarations during employment will not show any abnormalities.
However, the situation becomes more complicated when this operation is combined with new digital currencies such as Decentralized USD.
02 Decentralized USD: A Technological Catalyst for Escalating Corruption
Decentralized USD, with its decentralized, anonymous, and cross-border liquidity features, is becoming a new tool for certain corrupt activities.
Unlike traditional Bitcoin, Decentralized USD has a more stable value anchor and a more discreet circulation path. Its algorithmic stabilization mechanism makes its value fluctuate far less than that of ordinary cryptocurrencies, making it more suitable as a long-term "store of value" tool.
Cross-border liquidity is another major advantage of Decentralized USD. An investigator pointed out: "Through Decentralized USD, asset transfers can be completed on-chain, without going through the traditional banking system, thus circumventing foreign exchange controls and anti-money laundering monitoring."
A case disclosed in 2024 revealed that an official was still able to receive "advisory fees" from overseas several years after retirement through Decentralized USD. The transaction records were stored in an encrypted and distributed manner, making the investigation extremely difficult.
03 The Technological Game Between Corruption and Anti-Corruption Escalates
In response to corruption using new tools such as Decentralized USD, anti-corruption measures are also being upgraded with technology.
Blockchain analytics is becoming a new weapon in the fight against corruption. By monitoring on-chain transaction patterns and address associations, investigators can identify abnormal fund flows. A technical staff member from a local discipline inspection and supervision commission stated, "Decentralized USD is not completely anonymous; its transaction records are permanently stored on the blockchain. Once an address is associated with a real-world identity, the entire transaction network will be exposed."
Big data analytics is used to identify corruption patterns. By analyzing the correlation between an official's project approvals while in office and their financial transactions after retirement, the system can automatically flag suspicious cases.
However, technological maneuvering remains challenging. One expert frankly stated, "New forms of corruption are difficult to detect, difficult to gather evidence for, and difficult to solidify, especially when corrupt officials possess considerable technical expertise."
04 Prevention and control strategy that emphasizes both systems and technology
Combating new forms of corruption requires a two-pronged approach: improving legislation and upgrading technology.
At the legal level, there is an urgent need to clarify the legal characterization and value assessment standards of new digital currencies in corruption cases. Currently, judicial practice presents various viewpoints regarding the determination of the amount of virtual currency received, including purchase price, resale price, and market price, necessitating the establishment of more unified judgment rules.
At the technical level, it is necessary to build a cross-departmental collaboration mechanism to achieve information sharing and technical coordination among financial regulators, discipline inspection and supervision departments, and judicial departments.
An anti-corruption research expert pointed out: "The key to future anti-corruption efforts lies in predictive regulation, which involves analyzing the trajectory of power operation and the flow of funds to identify corruption risks in advance, rather than investigating after the fact."
With the emergence of new financial instruments such as Decentralized USD, the struggle between corruption and anti-corruption has entered a new phase. A scholar who has long studied corruption stated, "Technology itself is not guilty; the key lies in its application. The transparency of blockchain can be used to circumvent regulations, or it can become a powerful tool in the fight against corruption. The outcome of this struggle depends on our understanding and ability to apply the technology."
@USDD - Decentralized USD #USDD以稳见信
