Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in his first-quarter earnings speech to investors that Coinbase has no plans to move its operations outside of the US.
In his speech on May 5, Armstrong assured that the firm is 100 percent committed to the US market over the long term, despite regulatory uncertainty in the US. The CEO continued in his speech: “Let me be frank, we are 100 percent dependent on the USA. I founded this company in the USA because I saw that the rule of law prevails here. “This is really important and I’m really optimistic that the United States will do this right.”
Armstrong Hopeful for Regulatory Clarity
Brian Armstrong believes that Congress will soon issue a clear set of rules that crypto firms must follow. But Armstrong’s comments are not entirely optimistic.
The CEO expressed concern about unforeseen enforcement actions by the Securities Exchange Commission. Armstrong continued: “Despite our ongoing contacts with the commission, they are not as clear as we would like to have about their specific concerns with Coinbase, and so I have to refrain from speculating too much. “The timeline of any potential SEC litigation we may face is particularly difficult to predict.”
With Coinbase launching the Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) on May 2, many experts began to think that the platform was looking for an escape from the United States.
The exchange serves customers in 30 different countries around the world, including Singapore, Hong Kong, El Salvador, Philippines, Thailand and Bermuda, where CIE is currently licensed.
Speaking about the European Union’s Crypto Asset Markets (MiCA) legislation, Armstrong said that the EU is ahead in terms of regulatory progress. Armstrong: “They adopted the comprehensive crypto legislation called MiCA and created one clear rulebook for the entire region. This is a very strong step,” he continued.
Saying that he has just returned from a trip to the UK and Washington, Armstrong stated that there are bills working on issues such as stablecoins and market structure in both regions.