Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase’s chief executive Brian Armstrong has challenged the next SEC chairman to apologize to Americans for harm done to the cryptocurrency space. In his staFtement on October 29th, Armstrong also took a swipe at the SEC regarding its handling of digital assets, with what he says are inconsistent and inconclusive directives on core areas of concern.
Agreed – Massachusetts residents should vote for @JohnEDeaton1
Crypto holders in MA should realize @SenWarren is the one who got Gary Gensler his job and encouraged him to (unlawfully) try and kill the crypto industry in America. Luckily they did not succeed as we and others… https://t.co/uLcBzIXyTV
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) October 21, 2024
Armstrong’s comments are part of a more significant issue of how the SEC has flip-flopped on whether assets like Bitcoin are securities under its jurisdiction and how much direct control the SEC has over crypto trading platforms. In explaining his work, Armstrong included a list of quotes from the SEC, in which he pointed out what he believed to be a regulatory inconsistency that has been an issue for both crypto firms and users.
“The next SEC chair should apologize to the American people and retract all frivolous legal cases,” Armstrong claimed. He concedes that an apology letter alone would not make things right but could be a small start toward restoring people’s confidence in the regulators.
Coinbase CEO Backs Pro-Crypto Candidates, Urges SEC Reform
Armstrong has supported several Republican Senate candidates as the US elections draw closer, knowing they support friendly crypto policies. One of his endorsements is David McCormick, a former CEO of Bridgewater Associates who is running for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania. On the social media platform X, Armstrong has endorsed McCormick as the ‘better candidate on crypto for the voters of Pennsylvania.’
Armstrong also backed a pro-XRP lawyer named John Deaton for the Senate, where he wanted to replace incumbent Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, in Massachusetts. Armstrong has previously attacked Warren as she played a part in getting SEC Chair Gary Gensler and accused her of compelling Gensler to focus on the crypto sector in the U.S.
Nevertheless, Armstrong has not supported any presidential candidates despite several endorsements from the Senate.
It would be interesting to see this agenda get as much traction as Armstrong is proposing were former President Donald Trump to regain the presidential office again. Trump has not hidden his disappointment in the current leadership of the SEC and has vowed to fire Gensler once back in office on his first day. On the 27th of July, Trump said he wanted to fire Gensler and find a chair who would know that the future is built instead of being walled off.
Of course, there were guesses on who might fill the role under a Trump administration, such as Robinhood’s chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, a former commissioner with the SEC. Other possible contenders for the job are former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins, current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, and Chris Giancarlo, the former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Much is still unknown about the SEC’s future leadership and how it will shape, particularly, the regulation, or indeed the treatment, of cryptocurrencies as the election approaches.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here
