The cryptocurrency exchange received a license from Bermuda and is seeking one in Abu Dhabi.
Crypto firms may leave the US if the regulatory uncertainty surrounding digital currencies continues, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told an audience at Fintech Week in London on Tuesday.
“Anything is on the table, including relocating or whatever is necessary,” Armstrong said when asked if he could see moving his company elsewhere. “I think the US has the potential to be an important market for crypto, but right now we are not seeing that regulatory clarity that we need.”
I think that in a number of years if we don’t see that regulatory clarity emerge in the US, we may have to consider investing more elsewhere in the world.
Armstrong blamed the “turf battle” between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for the confusion stateside. “We actually have contradictory statements from the heads of the CFTC and the SEC coming out almost every few weeks. How’s business going to operate in that environment?” he asked.
Coinbase received a Digital Asset Business License from the Bermuda Monetary Authority on Wednesday. The company reportedly plans to launch an offshore derivatives exchange in Bermuda apart from its main business, taking advantage of the island’s lax regulatory climate to offer services that are unavailable in the US. It is also seeking a license in Abu Dhabi.
The SEC served Coinbase with a “Wells notice” last month, warning the company that it might be operating in violation of securities laws and will likely face legal action. However, the regulator did not point to which part of Coinbase’s business was breaking the law. The company’s chief legal officer said Coinbase welcomed the legal challenge “to provide the clarity we have been advocating for and to demonstrate that the SEC simply has not been fair or reasonable when it comes to its engagement on digital assets.”
The regulator filed a lawsuit against Bittrex, a competing crypto exchange, on Monday. Bittrex received a Wells notice shortly before Coinbase.
SEC chair Gary Gensler has argued crypto exchanges like Coinbase, which he called out by name, are illegally operating as unlicensed security exchanges. However, crypto traders have pointed out that the SEC approved Coinbase to list coins deemed securities all the way back in 2018, only to now claim they are operating illegally.
