Coinbase is not at all worried about the increasing competition from Wall Street giants or other traditional financial institutions, the crypto exchange’s head of Policy for Europe told CoinDesk on Friday.
“We’ve always said that a rising tide lifts all ships,” Katie Harries said, adding that Coinbase is “not at all” worried about the growing involvement of financial institutions in the US and around the world in crypto.
The company recently posted a loss of $1.49 per share, compared to analysts’ expectations for a profit of $0.27. Also in the first week of May, Coinbase announced a 14% reduction in workforce.
In a brief written interview about the Stand With Crypto (SWC) events on Friday, Harries said the mobilization of people worldwide shows that the established crypto industry has a community behind it that no traditional financial institution can replicate.
“Millions of people around the world chose crypto because they believe in what it represents: open, accessible, peer-to-peer finance,” Harry said. “The people gathered today in London, Paris, New York, Sao Paulo and beyond are not here because a financial institution told them to be. They are here because they believe in this technology and want their governments to support it.”
“Voters care about crypto”
Harry also spoke about the American voter. While U.S. citizens won’t have crypto top of mind heading into November’s midterm elections, voters do care about digital assets and have contacted their lawmakers millions of times to let them know, Harries said.
“Voters don’t care and the numbers make that clear,” Harry said, dismissing recent statements by senators to the contrary. “Stand With Crypto has over 3.7 million advocates across six markets. Its members have contacted their legislators more than 2.5 million times.”
The Coinbase executive also said that signals “the crypto voter is a permanent fixture in the political landscape, not just in the US, but around the world. Politicians who have been slow to engage with this community should take note.”
A CoinDesk survey of 1,000 randomly selected US voters across the country found that only 1% ranked crypto as their top concern. The survey was evenly split between Republican and Democratic respondents (41% of respondents identified with each party to some degree), with a confidence interval of plus or minus 3.53%.
‘The time for sensible regulation is now’
Harries urged regulators around the world to adopt sensible crypto frameworks, saying the time to do so is now. “The window to shape sensible crypto regulation is open, and the people gathering at the events on Friday are watching.”
SWC is, according to Coinbase, the world’s largest crypto advocacy company with over 3.7 million members globally.
Harry’s words come as SWC runs 500 events across four continents and six markets, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil and the EU.
The events coincide with Bitcoin Pizza Day, Coinbase said in a statement shared with CoinDesk.
During the global event, a live stream will feature discussions on ecosystem and policy developments worldwide.
Coinbase’s statement notes that the event comes at a critical time for crypto as market structure legislation progresses through the US Congress.
Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, a Stand With Crypto partner, said that this Friday’s rally “proves that the crypto voter is a global phenomenon. People around the world want the freedom to exchange value peer-to-peer, and they want their governments to help make it a reality. This hunger for economic prosperity is not limited to one nation.”
Shirzad also said that “getting crypto regulation right is one of the most critical policy challenges of our generation, and it requires a global effort, not just action in Washington.”
Bitcoin Pizza Day has become a celebrated moment for millions of crypto users celebrating the first real bitcoin transaction. On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. That bitcoin at current prices is worth about $770 million.
