Coinbase Is Still 100% Committed To US Market, Says Brian Armstrong

TL;DR

• Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong has stated that the crypto exchange remains committed to the US market.

• He previously suggested that Coinbase could move its headquarters to another country due to the regulatory unclarity in the United States. 

Coinbase Is Committed To The US Market

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase crypto exchange, has revealed that the company has no plans to move its operations out of the United States. 

He made this statement while addressing investors in the Q1 earnings call. According to Armstrong, Coinbase is 100% committed to the US market over the long term despite the current regulatory nature in the country. He said;

“So let me be clear, we're 100% committed to the U.S. I founded this company in the United States because I saw that rule of law prevails here. That's really important, and I'm actually really optimistic about the U.S. getting this right.”

Armstrong added that;

“When I go visit DC, there is strong bipartisan support for Congress to come in and create new legislation that would create a clear rule book in the U.S., and I think it's really important for America to get this right.”

Despite his optimism, Armstrong said he is concerned about the unpredictable enforcement action of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has been going after crypto exchanges in recent months and recently served Coinbase with a Wells Notice. He added that

“Despite our ongoing engagement with the commission, they have not been as clear about what their specific concerns are with Coinbase as we might like, and so I have to refrain from speculating too much. It's especially difficult to predict the timeline of any potential SEC litigation that we might face.”

Coinbase has since filed an action in a US Federal court seeking to compel the regulatory agency to answer a petition that has been pending since July.

Due to the regulatory uncertainty in the United States, Coinbase launched Coinbase International Exchange (CIE) earlier this week as it looks to expand its base beyond the United States. 

Coinbase is present in numerous European countries and stated that the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation that will come into play next year in Europe is a very powerful one. He stated that;

“They've adopted comprehensive crypto legislation called MiCA, creating a single clear rule book for the entire region. It's pretty powerful. I just got back from a trip from the U.K. and D.C. Both of those, have draft bills in the works that are working on things like around stable coins and market structures in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Brazil, all are essentially following in this direction.”

Armstrong has previously stated that Coinbase could move its headquarters to another country if the regulatory uncertainty in the United States continues.