Coinbase CEO Urges Congress To Pass Clear Crypto Legislation, Warns America Of Risks Of Losing Financial Center Status

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has called on Congress to pass clear crypto legislation, warning that the US risks losing its status as a financial hub. “Crypto is open to everyone in the world and more are on the way,” the executive pointed out.

Coinbase CEO on Cryptocurrency Regulation

CEO of Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq:COIN), Brian Armstrong, has called on Congress to pass clear crypto legislation. He tweeted on Wednesday:

America risks losing its status as a long-term financial hub, with no clear crypto regulations and a hostile environment from regulators. Congress should move quickly to pass clear legislation.

“Crypto is open to anyone around the world and more are on the way,” he added, mentioning the EU, UK and Hong Kong.

In addition to Armstrong, many people have complained that crypto regulations in the United States are unclear, making it difficult for companies to comply. However, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler insisted that the law is clear and that most crypto tokens are securities.

Gensler has been criticized for taking a law enforcement-centric approach to regulating the crypto industry. Recently, the securities watchdog took action against crypto exchange Kraken over its take program. The commission also sent a Wells notice to Paxos on the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. On Thursday, he accused Terraform Labs and CEO Do Kwon of defrauding investors.

Coinbase has insisted that its staking services are not securities. Armstrong tweeted on February 12, “Coinbase staking services are not securities. We will be happy to defend this in court if necessary. Additionally, Coinbase tweeted on February 14:

We don’t know what aspects of BUSD might be of interest to the SEC. What we know: stablecoins are not securities.

As the United States tightens its crypto regulations, several other jurisdictions are pushing to become a cryptocurrency hub, including Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea’s second-largest city, Busan.

Kraken CEO Jesse Powell also called on Congress to pass cryptocurrency legislation after his exchange settled with the SEC and agreed to pay $30 million. “Congress must act to protect the domestic crypto industry and American consumers who will now go overseas to obtain services no longer available in the United States,” Powell wrote.

Do you agree with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong that the US needs clear crypto regulation or the country risks losing its status as a financial hub? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kevin Helms

An economics student from Austria, Kevin discovered Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests include Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

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