- The SEC’s approach to Coinbase has led its CEO to call for a regime change in the U.S.
- Brian Armstrong wants to mobilize the 50M+ crypto users in the U.S. to elect pro-crypto candidates.
- Armstrong calls on people to contact congress, donate to pro-crypto candidates, and show up at town halls.
The uncertainty and ambiguity of U.S. crypto legislation have caused an uproar from several household names. Ripple’s CEO says there will be a crypto business exodus from the U.S., while Coinbase’s CEO is looking for a regime change.
Brian Armstrong took to a Twitter Space to rally crypto believers to become a political force. The exchange has been under pressure from the SEC and was served with a Wells Notice on Wednesday, March 22.
“What we’re going to do is start putting out content where people can contact their congressman, donate to pro-crypto candidates, show up at town halls, make your voice heard,” Armstrong said in the Twitter Space. “We are going to elect pro-crypto candidates in this country to make sure that our success is ensured.”
Time to Take It to the Top
It appears that Armstrong is tired of trying to reason with regulators. The exchange has taken several steps to work with regulators, especially the SEC.
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Speaking on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast, Armstrong said he had requested a ‘rule book’ from the regulator, yet nothing was forthcoming. Coinbase also petitioned the SEC on March 20 to reconsider staking rewards as securities but was met with the Wells Notice a day later.
Following the notice, Coinbase sought clarity on which tokens were being eyed as securities, but the SEC refused the request.
Armstrong also claims it would not be surprising if some regulators simply wanted crypto to disappear.
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“It wouldn’t surprise me if some people there [in the SEC] actually just want it [crypto] to go away. They wish this whole thing would go away,” the CEO added on the Odd Lots Podcast.
Getting Political
Coinbase has performed a rather drastic turnaround in stance following its dealings with the SEC over the last few years. In September 2020, Armstrong wrote a blog post claiming the exchange should not advocate “for any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission because it is a distraction from our mission.”
Since then, Armstrong has actively engaged with U.S lawmakers; Coinbase’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad launched a voter registration portal as part of a crypto policy education initiative. Only last month, Coinbase launched a grassroots political campaign to promote pro-crypto policies called Crypto435.
On the Flipside
- While crypto policies on a federal level remain hostile to crypto businesses, more friendly legislation is being proposed at a State level. Texas State House of Representatives recently proposed a bill to fully protect and “welcome the Bitcoin economy.”
Why You Should Care
There appears to be an impasse between regulators in the U.S. and businesses trying to operate with crypto. If the SEC continues to crack down in this manner, and these companies wish to remain in the U.S., there will have to be drastic changes.
Read more about the SEC’s threats of legal action against Coinbase:
Coinbase Draws SEC’s Ire as Major Exchange Faces Lawsuit.
Read more about Coinbase halting staking rewards for Algorand:
Coinbase Suspends Algorand Staking Rewards Amid SEC Crackdown.
