Davos kicked off yesterday with speeches from Ursula von der Leyen, Larry Fink, Emmanuel Macron, Demis Hassabis, Brian Moynihan and many others. Another person who made the headlines was Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, who spoke to Bloomberg and CNBC while he was in the Swiss town.
The crypto leader was vocal about negotiations in Washington. He was generous with his comments about how consumers deserve more from banks.
“Banks should have to play on a level playing field,” Brian told CNBC. “If the American people feel like the banks are not paying high enough interest rates and stablecoin rewards can offer them more, then maybe the banks should pay them higher interest rates to compete.”
Coinbase’s CEO remains optimistic that comprehensive U.S. crypto legislation will pass. This is despite his company’s opposition to the Clarity Act last week.
What about the Clarity Act?
Brian spoke with Bloomberg yesterday as well. He shared how he believes that we are in a breakout moment for crypto. On his agenda whilst at Davos will be meeting bank CEOs, he explained.
“We are having this moment in D.C. about getting market structure legislation passed,” Brian shared with Bloomberg. “The bill has made good progress with strong bipartisan support. And there was a little bit of a ‘blow up’ last week, you may have noticed.”
Notice how Brian called the halting of the Clarity Act a ‘blow up’. This small hiccup may have been responsible for wiping millions off the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with bitcoin slumping below $90,000 last night and struggling to get back up there this morning.
Brian shared how the legislation included “too many giveaways to tradfi.”
“Our view is that there should be a level playing field,” he reiterated. “Banks don’t like that. Banks are very smart; bank lobbying groups and associations are out there trying to ban their competition.
“I have zero tolerance for that,” Brian highlighted. “I think it’s un-American. It harms consumers, and the banks need competition. They need to innovate.”
Brian explained how there were 3 or 4 red line issues in the draft legislation. When he asked D.C. lawmakers if fixes could come post-committee, they said no. Due to this, Brian felt he had to stand up and defend customers’ rights. Though uncomfortable with the bill as-is, he’s glad negotiations continue. “Everyone is still at the table.”
Donald Trump’s Bill?
Bloomberg’s reporter shared how one commentator had reminded people that “this was Donald Trump’s bill and not Brian Armstrong’s bill.”
Brian agreed that the credit for the bill should go to the Senate and certainly not to him or Coinbase. He agreed that this bill was a core part of Donald Trump’s crypto agenda.
“I don’t see any real barriers here,” Brian explained. “Some people were caught off guard that we (Coinbase) didn’t support the draft as is. Most people want to get this done though.”
Bank Deposits vs. Stablecoins: Armstrong’s Take
Regarding Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s comments last week about $6 trillion of deposits being removed and put into stablecoins, Brian also had his opinion.
“Some of the bank CEOs I have spoken with have said that ‘we have this high regulatory burden with being a bank and what you are doing kind of looks like a bank and so we think it’s super unfair and you should have to have a bank license too.’
“What I tell them is that we (Coinbase) are not doing something very important that you do. We do not do fractional reserve lending. The banks have high regulatory burden because they use customers’ money to invest elsewhere. That money is not there in reality once the banks have it.
“In a crypto world there’s a 100% reserve. All your money is there. This eliminates the risk that the banks must allow for. This means that we don’t need a bank license. We are already regulated by the SEC and the CFTC. So, there must be some other solution rather than forcing crypto companies to become banks.”
Regarding bitcoin, he reiterated how he sees the cryptocurrency going to $1,000,000 by 2030. Let’s hope it can get to $90,000 again in the meantime.
Author: Andy Samu
See Also:
Clarity Act: Ripple Says Yes, Coinbase Walks Away | Disruption Banking
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Disruption Banking has taken precautions to ensure accuracy, but readers should verify independently.
