Brian Armstrong, the co-founder and CEO of the largest American cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, believes being anti-crypto could have ugly political effects in the upcoming United States elections in 2024.
In a Tuesday tweet, Armstrong stated that taking a stand against the novel technology would be “a really bad political strategy” for several reasons, blasting well-known crypto critic Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Roger Marshall for “lobbying for big banks.”
The Coinbase CEO outlined the upsides of the crypto industry, including just 9% of Americans being satisfied with the traditional financial system. He added that 38% of young people believe crypto could increase economic opportunities, while over 52 million Americans own and have used crypto for one activity or another.
In addition, the prices of crypto assets have increased by 90% or more on a year-to-date basis, and Coinbase’s Stand With Crypto initiative has garnered almost one million supporters advocating for clear digital asset policies.
Armstrong’s tweet highlighted a video of Senator Marshall speaking to the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum (PI-SF) on the need for the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act introduced by Senator Warren.
The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act aims to curtail the use of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. as it seeks to regulate the crypto industry under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Senator Warren wants to extend the BSA’s know-your-customer (KYC) requirements, anti-money laundering rules, and counter-terrorism financing measures to market participants like crypto wallet providers, miners, and validators.
The bipartisan bill has attracted criticism from the crypto community, which believes the move threatens technological progress and directly attacks privacy and autonomy.
In a surprising turn of events, the bill has received support from several associations, including the Banking Policy Institute (BPI). During the meeting with the PI-SF, Senator Marshall said the bill represented a step in the right direction, as prominent names in the banking space, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, see crypto as a tool for criminals.
Besides the BPI, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the National District Attorneys Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, the National Consumer Law Center, and several other organizations have endorsed the bill.