As a reminder, last week it was revealed that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase had received a so-called Wells notice. It is a precursor to a lawsuit and signals the end of a certain investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. As has become clear from the contents of the document, the agency sees Coinbase’s steaming platform as offering unregistered securities.

However, the management of the exchange is clearly not going to give up and make concessions. That is the conclusion that can be drawn from a fresh rejoinder from the exchange’s chief executive Brian Armstrong. It was published by him over the weekend.

I must say that this notification from the Commission has resulted in a noticeable morale boost.

While it’s nice to have common interests, never forget that the main goal is to create better products for our customers. Improving the political background is necessary, but it is definitely not enough on its own.

If this is the case, Coinbase will not only have a chance to stop the cryptocurrency terror from the SEC, but also to clearly demonstrate that they care about their own users, who can continue to earn good interest on steaming.

How the cryptocurrency market doesn’t need to be regulated

The agency similarly “cracked down” on Kraken back in February: the exchange was then forced to close the staking to US customers and pay a $30 million fine.

In general, the U.S. approach to regulation is “based on a position of strength” – this opinion was expressed in a recent Coinbase blog post by Daniel Seifert, vice president and regional manager of the exchange in Europe. The United States may soon lose its status as a hub for crypto innovation because of its policy, Seifert said.

According to Cointelegraph’s sources, Europe has a much more open attitude towards crypto. For example, more startups focused on digital assets are emerging in the UK and France. A similar trend can be seen in the rest of the EU. Here is a relevant quote from the expert.

The US has left a vacuum that other countries are looking to fill. We are proud to be an American company. It is hard to sit back and watch the US squander the opportunity it has been given.

In particular, Seifert highlighted the significance of the Paris Blockchain Week conference held at the Louvre this month. He also pointed to the UK’s recent ambition to become a cryptohub and the European Union’s Crypto Asset Market Regulation (MiCA), which is due to come into force in 2024. The expert continues.

This year’s Paris Blockchain Week event is being held in the private premises of the Louvre – arguably France’s greatest national treasure and one of the world’s most important museums. To me, this is a clear message: France is quick to recognise the opportunities that the crypto industry offers and offers it a space to grow. The EU, UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan are following suit.

This is clearly positive news for the crypto market. Still, the more countries involved in the development of the digital asset ecosystem, the less Bitcoin and altcoins will be dependent on any one jurisdiction.

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Further proof of the positive climate for crypto development in Europe is the news of a new platform called wpNex by Germany’s WertpapierService Bank (Dwpbank), which will offer Bitcoin to all retail customers at its branches in the second half of this year. The cryptocurrency accounts will be opened alongside the bank’s other customer accounts and will not require additional identity verification procedures. Accordingly, access to the digital assets will be relatively easy.

To implement the initiative, WertpapierService Bank management has partnered with Tangany Wallet and Tradias trading platform from Bankhaus Scheich. Dwpbank CEO Heiko Beck said the bank plans to add other cryptocurrencies, digital assets and tokenised securities to the service in the future. At the same time, crypto customer accounts will be linked to cash euro accounts, meaning that transactions can be conducted without a separate payment account.

One may also recall here the initiative of the Hong Kong authorities, where it will become fully legal to buy, sell and actively trade in cryptocurrencies as early as June 1, 2023. In response to this news in February 2023, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong predicted that “the US risks losing its financial centre status in the long term due to the lack of clear cryptocurrency regulations.


We believe that such a prediction could indeed come true. Right now, though, US financial regulators are actively creating problems for cryptocurrency companies by issuing huge fines and limiting the functionality of their platforms. Of course, some will want to stay in the region with the infrastructure in place, but other major players will probably opt for less stringent regulation in other jurisdictions. And that will not only end up diminishing America's potential as the epicenter of blockchain innovation, but also the amount of tax revenue that will flow through to the public purse. Whatever the case, it's up to politicians and the blockchain community.