Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and chief executive officer of major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, revealed that the company is still 100% committed to the US market, despite the lack of regulatory clarity in the country.
The CEO’s disclosure came as a response to a question from shareholders, who were curious about Coinbase’s plans to move operations out of the US and the implications of such for customers, during an earnings call for Q1 2023 on Thursday.
Coinbase Will Not Leave the US
Armstrong said he founded Coinbase in the US because he observed the prevalence of the rule of law in the country. He expressed his optimism about America eventually getting it right, as he had already noticed strong bipartisan support for Congress to create clear legislation for cryptocurrencies during his visits to Washington, DC.
“So let me be clear, we’re 100% committed to the US. I founded this company in the United States because I saw that rule of law prevails here. That’s really important. And I’m actually really optimistic on the US getting this right,” the CEO said.
The Coinbase boss insisted that it was important for America to fix the regulatory issue because other countries, including financial hubs, were vying to take the top position in the crypto space. While supranational organizations like the European Union have passed comprehensive crypto regulation, regions like the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Singapore have become more optimistic than the US.
Armstrong believes the EU’s Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) regulation has placed the union and its member states in the lead.
Coinbase to Go Global
The Coinbase CEO further explained that as the US works towards getting its crypto regulation right, his company will continue its mandate of serving as many people as possible by exploring the global market. In line with its plans, the firm recently launched Coinbase International Exchange, a Bermuda-based crypto derivatives platform for non-US institutional clients.
“Obviously, we have to make choices about where we’re going to allocate our capital every year. And so we do look at where we could think that can have the greatest ROI. But yes, the leading financial centers, they’re all working to create responsible crypto rules and clarity right now and the US is going to follow suit, I believe,” Armstrong added.
