Global: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Says Decentralized Finance Should Be Protected From Regulatory Overreach

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is voicing his opinion on potential regulations involving crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Armstrong says he’s grateful that Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow and Arkansas Republican John Boozman are attempting to get the ball rolling on regulatory clarity for crypto and DeFi.

The US Senators have been working to create legislation that would empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate the crypto spot markets via a new class of assets called “digital commodities.”

Says Armstrong,

“Worth stating for the record, DeFi should be protected in any legislation that seeks to regulate centralized exchanges and custodians. Thanks to Debbie Stabenow and John Boozman for trying to get this right.”

Armstrong also says he appreciates FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s efforts at sparking discussions on the matter.

“And for what it’s worth, my understanding is Sam Bankman-Fried is aligned with protecting DeFi as well, which is great.”

Bankman-Fried recently suggested that the crypto industry embrace action from regulators and to create a set of standards to follow until then.

“At a high level:

a) we need regulatory oversight and customer protection
b) we need to ensure an open, free economy, where peer-to-peer transfers, code, validators, etc. are presumptively free
c) we should establish regulation–and until then standards–to ensure (a/b)”

Last month, Armstrong said that sensible crypto regulation was a national security issue, citing various different threats to the US stemming from a lack of legal certainty in the industry.

“The US missed on semiconductors and 5G which is now largely manufactured offshore. It can’t afford to have cryptocurrency go offshore as well (same for every country, by the way).

Regulation by enforcement has a terrible chilling effect, and rhetoric matters – we’ve already seen a huge amount of crypto talent, asset issuers, and startups go offshore.

Coinbase is a global company, but we’re based right here in the USA and will fight to make sure crypto succeeds here for everyone. It’s too important to America and the free world.”