Op-ed: Crypto markets need regulation to avoid more washouts like FTX, says Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

FTX — until recently one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world — declared bankruptcy Friday after revelations about its business practices led to a surge of customer withdrawals, without sufficient funds to fulfill those withdrawals.  

Coinbase doesn’t have any material exposure to FTX, but I have a lot of sympathy for everyone involved in the current situation. It’s stressful any time there is potential for customer loss in our industry, and a lot of people are losing a lot of money as a result of FTX’s struggles. 

It’s also important to be clear about why this happened — and what needs to change if we want to prevent something like it from happening again.

FTX’s downfall appears to be the result of risky, unethical business practices, including conflicts of interest between deeply intertwined entities, and decisions to lend customer assets without permission. It’s worth noting that these activities happen in traditional financial markets as well — and in fact, blockchain technology will make it easier to track and prosecute over time. 

In the wake of this week’s events, we’re already seeing calls for more regulation of the crypto industry, with tighter restrictions on access and innovation. The problem is that, so far, U.S. regulators have refused to provide clear, sensible regulations for crypto that would protect consumers. 

Crypto regulation in the U.S. has been hard to navigate, and regulators have so far failed to provide a workable framework for how these services can be offered in a safe, transparent way. This means that a swathe of crypto-based financial products including lending, margin trading, short selling and other tools that are fully legal and regulated in traditional financial markets are all but outlawed in the U.S. Entrepreneurial teams building new decentralized products are afraid to build out of the U.S. for fear of litigation. They don’t want to break the rules, and right now they don’t know what the rules are.  

As a result, American consumers and advanced traders alike have been engaging with risky, offshore platforms outside the jurisdiction — and protection — of U.S. regulators. Today, more than 95% of crypto trading activity happens on overseas exchanges.

Part of the reason FTX was able to do what it did was because it operates in the Bahamas, a tiny island country with very little regulatory oversight and ability to oversee financial services businesses. Did regulators force FTX to conduct itself in the way it did? No. But they did create a situation where FTX could take dangerous risks with no repercussions.  

Instead of putting in place clear guidelines for crypto, U.S. regulators have focused on regulation by enforcement — going after U.S.-based companies for not following the rules without actually establishing what those rules are. Coinbase itself fell victim to this practice earlier this year, when the SEC accused the company of listing unregistered securities, a charge that we strongly deny. It’s bad for U.S. competitiveness, and bad for Americans who lose money when overseas firms collapse. 

All of this helps explain why more heavy-handed regulation would just make the problem of crypto companies and crypto users going overseas worse. Instead, we need smarter regulation that protects consumers and makes the U.S. a more attractive place for crypto companies to operate.  

Despite the prevailing notion that crypto companies don’t want to be regulated, many — if not most — companies have been working with policymakers for years. Those of us who care about the future of crypto want to create sensible regulation for centralized exchanges and custodians in the U.S. and other regions. 

Over the long-term, the crypto industry has an opportunity to build a better system using decentralized finance and self-custodial wallets that don’t rely on trusting third parties like exchanges. Instead, customers will be able to trust code and math, and everything can be publicly auditable on the blockchain. Until then, however, regulators need to establish clear rules that bring crypto back on-shore, encourage innovation, and protect consumers. 

The U.S. has always prided itself on being at the vanguard of new technologies and industries. With more than 200 million global crypto users and countries beginning to pilot digital currency programs and accept bitcoin as legal tender, crypto’s time has come.  

Now, the U.S. has a choice: take the lead by providing clear, business-forward regulation, or risk losing out on a key driver of innovation and economic equality.

Brian Armstrong is the CEO and Cofounder of Coinbase.