Brian Armstrong – the CEO of Coinbase, one of the world’s largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges – has been having one heck of a week. The trading platform made its stock debut on the Nasdaq a few days ago, and things appear to really be taking off.
Brian Armstrong: No Hacks, No Regulation
Coinbase saw its stock trading for well over $300 per share. Given that the company is likely valued at more than $100 billion at this stage, this is small beans compared with what could potentially arrive in the future. The cryptocurrency space has grown to unprecedented levels over just the last year alone, but according to Armstrong, we are not quite where we need to be, and there are many issues to tackle.
In a recent interview, Armstrong was quick to point out what he feels are two big problem areas for the entire industry: regulation and cybersecurity. Regulation, he says, is a huge disadvantage to those who are looking to build the space and provide their innovation and abilities to an arena that has barely scratched the surface.
Regulation has been the talk of the town for some time. Politicians like Kevin McCarthy – a Republican from California and the House Minority Leader – claim that regulation is a must if the digital currency space is going to grow and expand the way it should. However, others – such as Armstrong – do not seem to agree. In his interview, he states:
We’re very excited and happy to play by the rules, and basically, we just ask that, hey! We want to be treated on the same level playing field with traditional financial services at the very least and not have any kind of punishment for being in the crypto space.
Right now, there are heavy proposals surrounding crypto regulation, and it is widely believed that these proposals infringe on people’s rights and do damage to the digital space. For example, it was recently suggested that all crypto exchanges be made to report the names and addresses of individuals who take part in crypto transactions exceeding $3,000.
The Space Needs Innovation
This proposal garnered criticism and negative attention from many crypto fans and analysts including Jack Dorsey, who said that the move would mean crime agencies would have a much harder time pinning down those who are engaged in illicit activity. He also said that the rule would potentially affect current privacy laws.
In addition, Armstrong was quick to say that cybersecurity was another major issue in the digital space, though this presents something of a conundrum in that there can be no serious fight against future crypto hacks unless appropriate regulation is set in place. Either way, it appears the crypto arena still has a way to go before things are fully settled, but it is still expanding like it never has before.
