Brian Armstrong, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, urged the U.S. and UK to put clear regulations in place for the crypto market. According to Armstrong, without proper legislation “onshore,” crypto firms will be prompted to develop in “offshore havens.”
Armstrong shared his opinion on the matter while discussing the failure of Bahamas-based crypto exchange and crypto fund FTX during a recent appearance at an Innovate Finance-organized conference in London.
“This is the reason why we need clarity about legislation and regulation onshore because if the UK doesn’t have this, if the US doesn’t have this, these firms are going to be built in offshore havens,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong also raised the idea of relocating Coinbase headquarters or “whatever is necessary” in case US regulators continue to ignore the crypto market.
Cryptocurrencies remain mostly unregulated in the US, although the country’s agencies have been pursuing enforcement actions against a number of crypto firms in recent years due to illegal offerings or failure to prevent illicit activity. The holdback is believed to be caused by the lack of consensus between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission about who would have the authority to oversee the crypto sector.
At the same time, the UK and European Union have been working on drafts for crypto-focused laws, but those rules are still waiting to be put into action.