By
Steve Muchoki
April 25th, 2024
According to Armstrong, the crypto asset market is here to stay, thus the reason traditional financial services are integrating with the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
The call for crypto asset regulations in the United States has intensified following the collapse of Terra Luna UST and FTX last year. Already, the United States investigators are looking into the FTX and Alameda case with top officials, including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh among others, under police custody. Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Terraform Labs PTE Ltd and Do Hyeong Kwon with orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud involving an algorithmic stablecoin and other crypto assets.
However, it is the push against cryptocurrency staking, the altcoin market, and the stablecoins industry that has attracted much attention. Earlier last month, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the closure of its crypto staking program after it agreed to pay a $30 million fine to the SEC. The SEC Chair Gary Gensler has indicated that all crypto assets, with Bitcoin an exception, are unregistered securities.
This is evident with the recent push by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) that directed Paxos to cease the minting of new Binance-backed BUSD.
Coinbase and Its CEO Calls for Clear Crypto Regulations
According to Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong, the United States is behind on getting its regulatory act together while the rest of the world embraces crypto technology. In a recent TV interview, Armstrong defended the cryptocurrency staking industry, noting that it is not a security whatsoever. The tech billionaire said that Coinbase is ready to defend the staking industry in a court of law if the need arises.
According to Armstrong, the crypto asset market is here to stay, thus the reason traditional financial services are integrating with the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry.
“A lot of traditional financial services firms are integrating this technology,” Armstrong said. “Everybody from JPMorgan, Visa and Mastercard, Franklin Templeton they have projects and teams internally working on how to integrate crypto into their services.”
As a result, Armstrong has called for United States regulators to update its financial systems to serve everyone equally.
The U.S. financial system doesn't serve everyone equally—it's time for an update. @SquawkCNBC @andrewrsorkin https://t.co/5arQzSZyw3
— Coinbase (@coinbase) March 1, 2023
He added that most global financial hubs, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and the European Union, have already enacted friendly crypto regulations to attract foreign and local investors. As a result, the tech billionaire indicated that his priority this year would be advocating for clear crypto regulations in the United States.
“My number one priority this year is the policy environment,” Armstrong said. “The rest of the world has actually embraced crypto. We’ve seen all the major financial hubs, Singapore, Hong Kong and London, and the EU just passed comprehensive crypto legislation … We need a clear rule book so that this industry can be built here.”