Coinbase CEO to Collaborate with House Democrats: Regulation Coming?

Is the United States coming closer to bridged regulation between regulators and industry leaders?

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, will convene privately with House Democrats this Wednesday, according to Democratic aides speaking to Bloomberg.

Armstrong’s discourse with the New Democrat Coalition—a group of 100 center-left lawmakers advocating for progressive policies—is set to revolve around legislation concerning digital assets. Key areas of discussion will include tax, national security, privacy, and environmental concerns related to cryptocurrency.

This meeting will happen amid Coinbase’s ongoing lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC alleges that Coinbase breached regulations by failing to register as a securities exchange — a charge that the cryptocurrency giant refutes and is striving to have dismissed.

Meanwhile, Coinbase argues an “abuse of power,” looking to get its charges dropped:

“For years, Coinbase […] has begged the SEC for guidance about how it thinks the federal securities laws map onto the digital asset industry as the SEC’s actions reflected an escalating but undisclosed change in its own view of its authority.”

Armstrong has championed explicit digital asset guidelines. He cites the lack of alignment between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a key reason for this, emphasizing the need for clear congressional legislation to address these discrepancies.

Thankfully, there have been talks about more sound regulation when CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham stated that the Ripple case could be a stepping stone for crypto regulation in the United States.

Coinbase has encouraged lawmakers to consider two proposed bills that could offer more explicit directions on how crypto exchanges should register with regulators, according to Bloomberg. The Congressional filing from June 2 outlines a goal to streamline the authority surrounding digital assets:

“This historic joint effort with the House Committee on Financial Services aims to close existing authority gaps between the CFTC and SEC and bolster U.S. leadership in financial and technological innovation.”

Armstrong’s call for more defined regulations aligns with a larger crypto industry narrative that’s faced increased SEC scrutiny under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler. The Blockchain Association agrees, stating that Gensler needs to recuse himself, as he has shown extreme bias against any cryptocurrency that isn’t Bitcoin:

“SEC Chair Gary Gensler has made clear that he takes a different view: in his mind, all digital assets other than bitcoin constitute securities, end of story.”