The CEO of Coinbase met with 25 members of the US Congress to talk about crypto regulation.
This was announced by Brian Armstrong himself on Twitter:
We’ve now met with 30+ crypto firms, 25+ members of congress and/or staff, 4 major law firms, and 3 trade groups about our regulatory proposal for crypto. Our policy team is doing great work and we’re trying to be part of the solution. https://t.co/kfw59KNdoo
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 30, 2021
Coinbase’s commitment to cryptocurrency regulation
“We’ve now met with 30+ crypto firms, 25+ members of congress and/or staff, 4 major law firms, and 3 trade groups about our regulatory proposal for crypto. Our policy team is doing great work and we’re trying to be part of the solution”.
These are the words of Brian Armstrong, which suggest that Coinbase does not want to passively accept the decision of the legislature.
According to TechCrunch, this is not the first time that Coinbase has had meetings with regulators. In these encounters, the exchange’s stakeholders have asked Coinbase to present a draft. That’s what Brian Armstrong did at the meeting a few days ago, with the understanding that it will only be one piece of a puzzle that will have to fit together with other pieces.
Brian Armstrong stated:
“We have a proposal that we actually want to put out there that could help maybe create at least one idea about how to move forward. But this is going to require input from a lot of people, and that willingness [on the part of lawmakers] to kind of engage with private industry and learn about what the opportunity is here”.
Coinbase’s fear is that stringent regulation will come in and hold back the development of the sector.
That’s why the exchange is engaging with the authorities in presenting its own proposal that can take into account the needs of crypto assets.
For their part, the regulators want guarantees on two fronts:
- fiscal side;
- security side.
The concerns of the US
The United States doesn’t want to miss the innovation train, but it has concerns about security.
Just a few days ago, President Joe Biden declared that the US is ready to bring together 30 nation-states to fight against the illicit use of cryptocurrencies.
This could translate into a battle to force platforms to use KYC and AML standards.
In fact, a “war” in this sense has already begun. The SEC and the CFTC, the two authorities that oversee security and commodity trading and aim to protect investors, have long been pursuing fraudulent platforms, or those operating without licenses.
Just in the last few days, the CFTC has taken action against 12 platforms that allowed crypto options trading without the necessary permits.
A DeFi giant like Uniswap has also been targeted by the SEC. Coinbase, which is in dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the launch of its new “Lend” feature, has not fared any better.
It is clear that the US will continue on this path without abdicating. Coinbase and other exchanges can only hope that their proposals will be accepted, and that the whole thing does not culminate in a stifling regulation.
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