Brian Armstrong, chief government officer of Coinbase Global Inc., speaks throughout the Messari Mainnet summit in New York, on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The crypto business can lastly shut the chapter on a litany of scandals and issues after Binance was hit with a historic settlement by the U.S. Department of Justice, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated Monday.
“The enforcement motion towards Binance, that’s allowing us to kind of turn the page on that and hopefully close that chapter of history,” Armstrong stated in an interview with CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche.
“There are many crypto companies that are helping build the crypto economy and change our financial system globally. But many of them are still small startups.”
“I think that regulatory clarity is going to help bring in more investment, especially from institutions,” he added.
Binance was hit by the U.S. Department of Justice with a $4 billion settlement final week, which noticed its founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, step down and plead responsible to costs of cash laundering violations.
The authorities accused Binance of violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and of breaching sanctions on Iran.
Armstrong pushed again on the suggestion that crypto is principally used for nefarious functions resembling fraud, cash laundering and terrorist financing, a typical chorus from monetary companies which have prevented leaping into the area because of compliance issues.
“It’s true that there have been some small amount of illicit activity in crypto but it’s actually less than 1% from what we’ve seen. If you look at illicit uses of cash it’s oftentimes more than that,” Armstrong informed CNBC.
Some gamers, he conceded, have been “bad actors,” referring to the case of Binance, in addition to the collapse of crypto trade FTX and the conviction of its founder Sam Bankman-Fried on costs of fraud.
Armstrong is within the U.Okay. Monday for the Global Investment Summit, which gathers a bunch of business leaders to encourage overseas funding within the U.Okay.
Coinbase was the one crypto firm invited to the summit, which Armstrong termed an “endorsement” for the corporate, however not essentially the broader business.
Armstrong stated that he’s “impressed” with U.Okay. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s management in the case of digital currencies and that Coinbase was investing extra within the U.Okay. consequently.
The U.Okay. is searching for to convey digital property resembling cryptocurrencies and stablecoins into the regulatory fold.
Coinbase is presently engaged in a tense authorized battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that the corporate is violating securities legal guidelines with its platform.
On that time, Armstrong stated he feels excellent about Coinbase’s possibilities combating the lawsuit. He additionally disputed the concept that the SEC’s actions have pressured Coinbase to maneuver offshore, including that the corporate remains to be investing actively in its dwelling market.
Correction: Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on costs of fraud. An earlier model misstated his standing.
Source: www.cnbc.com