Brian Armstrong, CEO of crypto change Coinbase, thinks that his firm made the right decision to adjust to United States cash transmitter licensing legal guidelines.
In a Nov. 21 social media submit, Armstrong weighed in on the information that rival change Binance is pleading responsible to prison charges, stating that he’s glad his personal change determined to acquire cash transmitter licenses, although it put the firm at a aggressive drawback.
Since the founding of Coinbase again in 2012 we’ve taken a long-term view. I knew we wanted to embrace compliance to grow to be a generational firm that stood the take a look at of time. We acquired the licenses, employed the compliance and authorized groups, and made it clear our model was about belief…
— Brian Armstrong ️ (@brian_armstrong) November 21, 2023
“I knew we needed to embrace compliance to become a generational company that stood the test of time,” Armstrong said, including that his staff “got the licenses, hired the compliance and legal teams, and made it clear our brand was […] following the rules.”
Armstrong acknowledged that his staff’s compliance technique slowed the firm’s progress, stating that “we couldn’t always move as quickly as others,” because it’s “more difficult and expensive to take a compliant approach.” However, Armstrong claimed his staff’s method was appropriate as a result of “we believe in the rule of law.”
Related: SEC raises concerns over Coinbase in objection to Celsius restructuring plan
Armstrong additionally took purpose at what he sees as an absence of regulatory readability in the U.S., which he claims is pushing customers to offshore exchanges like Binance. “Americans should not have to go to offshore unregulated exchanges to benefit from this technology,” he said. However, he additionally struck a constructive tone, claiming that the decision of the U.S. prison case in opposition to Binance might lastly be the “catalyst” for extra regulatory readability.
Armstrong has claimed that U.S. rules lack readability and have driven “95%” of crypto transactions offshore. The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed suit against Coinbase for allegedly violating U.S. securities legal guidelines. However, these claims aren’t associated to violations of the Bank Secrecy Act or cash transmitter licensing points.
On Nov. 21, the Department of Justice introduced that Binance has agreed to plead guilty to violations of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and to serving U.S. clients with out acquiring the correct cash transmitter licenses.