It makes money laundering harder for low and intermediate level drug dealers. Netherlands is a major importer for drugs: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Hamburg are major ports for drugs. Drug wholesalers in EU would rather transport millions of euros abroad, and use these euros in Africa in order to buy gold and other metals from locals. All of sudden, one ends with gold, sell gold back to refiners and get paid with bank transfers. It is a trade based money laundering. What the West want is to abolish cash everywhere across the world, it is an impossible goal. Even if Zimbabwe wants to abolish cash and use digital transactions, ordinary Zimbabweans don't want to participate in that.

You assume that making things hard for low and intermediate drug dealers is inconsequential.

But drug wholesalers only exist thanks to low and intermediate drug dealers.

Many of them aren't even transporting the money thanks to the hawala network around the world. Where I'm from otherwise legit exchange offices have been caught doing this and acting as a sort of bank for criminals, holding millions in safes.

Getting around the limitations of cash is no problem for those on the inside. Just like tax havens are only an option for the super wealthy who wouldn't really need them in the first place.

Ideally transactions denominated in Western coin align with western values (Good Things).

"It makes money laundering harder for low and intermediate level drug dealers."

Can you explain why this alone isn't a win?