The CEO of top US exchange Coinbase says the lack of clear crypto guidelines in the US has caused several problems within the sector.
In a new interview with CNBC, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says clear regulatory rules are needed for the U.S. digital asset industry as it continues to grow.
According to Armstrong, the lack of clear regulation has allowed “terrible things” to happen, such as the collapse or relocation of crypto companies abroad and the weakening of the US as a global financial center.
“About 56 million Americans have now used crypto. That’s about 1 in 5 Americans. To give you an idea of the scale, about five times as many Americans have used crypto as an electric vehicle. This is not a minority thing. It’s a mainstream thing in American society.
We need clear rules that recognize the innovation potential of this technology, but also protect consumers from harm. In the absence of that, we have seen terrible things happen. The industry has moved abroad, we have seen the stock markets explode, [and] we have seen a weakening of US dominance as a financial center and as a technology leader.”
Armstrong goes on to comment on a judge recently ruling in favor of Grayscale in its lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the crypto company’s application to become a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund ( ETF).
In the case, the judge ruled that the SEC must reconsider its position in rejecting Grayscale’s offer to remain consistent. Armstrong, who notes that Coinbase has been named as a custodian in many ETF filings, says the crypto exchange has a lot to gain from the creation of Bitcoin ETFs.
“ETFs have been an important development. Coinbase plays an important role. We are named as the custodian in many of these ETF applications. Our opinion is that it will be very good. It will bring new sources of capital into the crypto ecosystem. That will be good for crypto, but also for Coinbase.”
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