Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of leading American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, believes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is on a lone crusade in the push for regulatory clarity in the country, as the agency’s stance on the matter is different from that of Congress and other federal regulators.
During a Monday interview with CNBC, the CEO insisted that SEC chair Gary Gensler is attempting to regulate the American digital asset industry from an anti-crypto perspective for some unknown reason.
A Lone Crusader
“I think the broad consensus view in the U.S. government is that there should be a clear rule book, and this is going to require new legislation from Congress. The SEC is a bit of an outlier here. There’s kind of a lone crusade, if you will, with Gary Gensler, the chair there, and he has taken a more anti-crypto view for some reason,” the Coinbase CEO said.
Armstrong stated that Gensler is not trying to regulate the crypto industry as much as he is curtailing it, with the number of lawsuits the SEC has filed. The Coinbase boss argued that the legal battles were unhelpful for the industry.
Recall that the securities regulator has served multiple lawsuits against several crypto exchanges. Coinbase also received a Wells Notice from the agency indicating potential enforcement action despite the absence of a clear rule book for cryptocurrencies.
Armstrong noted that the absence of clear regulation allowed Coinbase to get clarity from the courts, a move the exchange commenced last year. As CryptoPotato reported, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently ordered the SEC to respond to Coinbase’s rulemaking petition filed nine months ago within ten days.
Coinbase Not Relocating Overseas
Furthermore, the Coinbase CEO reiterated his stance that the exchange would not move its operations to offshore regions amid the regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. However, he mentioned that the company would invest in areas like the U.K. and E.U., which have more thoughtful approaches to crypto.
“Coinbase is not gonna relocate overseas. We’re always going to have a U.S. presence … But the U.S. is a little bit behind right now. I would say we’re seeing more thoughtful approaches. For instance, in the E.U. [European Union], they’ve actually already passed comprehensive crypto legislation,” Armstrong stated.
Meanwhile, an earlier report confirmed that Coinbase is already considering the UAE as a hub for its international operations.
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