A year-to-date (YTD) study of financial markets shows that the cryptocurrency industry has outperformed the traditional financial system. Factors leading to the achievement were echoed in the comments of Brian Armstrong, the CEO and founder of the American exchange, Coinbase.
Bank Failures Caused a Flight to Crypto
In a Monday interview with the news outlet CNBC, Armstrong stated that a primary reason for the flight to cryptocurrencies again is the crash of popular U.S. banks.
“The bank failures in the U.S. did cause people to look again at crypto and try to think about this as an alternative system. [Crypto] prove in many different ways that the financial system is in major need of an update,” Armstrong said.
When asked how the bank crashes affected his American crypto exchange, the Coinbase boss stated that two banks went bankrupt from the five U.S. banks the company worked with. Back in March, Coinbase revealed a $240 million exposure to Signature Bank, one of the banks that crashed.
Armstrong added that Coinbase has “restored that level of redundancy with new bank relationships.”
SEC Is On “Lone Crusade”
Commenting on the regulatory aspects of crypto, Brian Armstrong mentioned that the U.S. is “a little bit behind right now.” He stated that while individuals within the U.S. government support the idea of clear legislation governing the crypto industry in the country, other agencies are fighting against adopting crypto.
Citing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Armstrong declared that the agency is on a “lone crusade” as it creates an “anti-crypto” atmosphere. Coinbase and the SEC have been involved in a legal tussle for months. By following up on the matter in court, Armstrong believes there will be a clear regulatory path for crypto exchanges within the country.
Meanwhile, the Coinbase CEO commended the regulatory path taken by financial agencies in other regions like the European Union, the United Kingdom, and even the United Arab Emirates.
