Crypto exchange Coinbase has been meeting with a number of regulators to convince them that the U.S. should have just one federal regulator overseeing the crypto sector. Currently, there are a variety of different regulators in the United States, explained CEO Brian Armstrong, noting that Coinbase has “53 regulators in one country, the United States.”
Coinbase Wants One Regulator in the US
The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is pushing for the U.S. to have just one crypto regulator.
“We have met a number of different regulators… regularly… I had a meeting last week with the chairman of the SEC, the chairman [Gary] Gensler, which in my opinion has been very productive, ”Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said during the company’s third quarter earnings call last week.
“There’s a variety of different regulators in the United States … There’s the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], the Treasury. And then, of course, we also have state regulators on money transfer licenses and loan licenses, ”he added.
Noting that Coinbase serves customers in more than 100 countries, Armstrong opined:
It’s pretty amazing that we at Coinbase have 53 regulators in just one country, the United States.
The CEO proceeded to reference the crypto regulatory proposal Coinbase published in October. Digital Asset Policy Proposal (DAPP) recommends having a single federal regulator in the United States
“It could be underneath one of the existing regulators. It doesn’t have to be a completely new entity, but it’d be nice to consolidate it a bit and use that as a way to enable more innovation in this space,” Armstrong continued, emphasizing that having many regulators really harms startups in the space.
“Our goal right now is to focus our regulator on crypto,” Coinbase Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Alesia Haas said.
She explained that “the technology is just so different,” noting that it can eliminate the need for some traditional financial services. The CFO opined:
We think it will be helpful to have one regulator, who really understands the technology really deeply and then helps bring what the new principles of financial regulation look like when it comes to crypto.
