Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Urges Regulators to Make Realistic Rules for Crypto

JAKARTA – The chairman of crypto exchange giant Coinbase, Brian Armstrong recently called for realistic crypto regulation for the industry. This is intended to restore consumer confidence which was damaged due to the impact of the FTX collapse.

The Coinbase CEO urged regulators to adopt a "realistic blueprint" for cryptocurrencies including stablecoins. For information, stablecoins are crypto assets whose value follows the value of fiat money so that the price is stable. According to him, stablecoins must also be regulated under financial services legislation standards and must pass a modern version of the Howey Test.

Armstrong hopes the FTX boom "will be the catalyst we need to finally get new legislation passed." He added that clarifying the rules would be a good first step, but asked the agency to ensure there are rules of the game, reported DailyCoin.

Armstrong suggested that after stablecoin regulation, regulators are targeting exchanges and custodians where additional transparency and disclosure are needed. He believes significant progress needs to be made in this area over the next year.

Simultaneously, the CEO of Coinbase alluded to a centralized financial system. According to him, the rules for centralized entities are a good thing going forward. However, decentralized finance (DeFi) should be left alone as it is transparent.

Armstrong founded the Coinbase crypto exchange with his partner Fred Ehrsam in 2012. Currently, Coinbase serves users from hundreds of countries around the world.

In May 2013, Coinbase received $5 million in Series A funding from businessman Fred Wilson of venture capital (VC) firm Union Square Ventures. Later in December of the same year, Coinbase also received funding from several other prominent VCs, such as Andreessen Horowitz and Ribbit Capital.

Coinbase has around 3,730 employees as of 2021. The cryptocurrency trading company is also listed on the leading US stock exchange, Nasdaq, using the ticker COIN.

Brian Armstrong himself is a former engineer at the leading lodging services company Airbnb. While Fred Ehrsam is a former trader at investment bank giant Goldman Sachs.