Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, stated that the company remains fully committed to the US market, despite the lack of regulatory clarity in the country. During an earnings call for Q1 2023 on Thursday, shareholders asked about Coinbase’s plans to move operations out of the US and the implications for customers.
Coinbase Will Remain in the US
Armstrong explained that he founded Coinbase in the US because of the prevalence of the rule of law in the country. He remains optimistic that America will create clear legislation for cryptocurrencies, with strong bipartisan support for Congress already noticed during his visits to Washington, DC.
“So let me be clear, we’re 100% committed to the US. 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 on the US getting this right,” the CEO said.
According to Armstrong, it is essential for America to fix the regulatory issue because other countries are vying for the top position in the crypto space. While the EU has passed comprehensive crypto regulation, regions like the UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore have become more optimistic than the US.
Armstrong believes that the EU’s Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) regulation has placed the union and its member states in the lead.
Coinbase to Expand Globally
As the US works towards getting its crypto regulation right, Coinbase plans to continue serving as many people as possible by exploring the global market. The company recently launched Coinbase International Exchange, a Bermuda-based crypto derivatives platform for non-US institutional clients.
“Obviously, we have to make choices about where we’re going to allocate our capital every year. And so we do look at where we could think that can have the greatest ROI. But yes, the leading financial centers, they’re all working to create responsible crypto rules and clarity right now and the US is going to follow suit, I believe,” Armstrong added.
