RE: Coinbase is Becoming a Problem
I watched this interview this morning with Asiff Hirji, COO of Coinbase. I know him very well as a friend. He worked for me in London a long time ago when he started his career. He knows all about winning in regulated markets - he was COO of TD Ameritrade the US broking firm.
He is very actively working to build Bitcoin and wider cryptocurrency adoption. The challenge he faces at Coinbase is that they have chosen to work in a way that fits inside the regulatory framework of the SEC and CFTC as best as they can. He will do whatever it takes to influence the emerging framework. Does that mean he and Coinbase are centralists?
It does not - they are being pragmatic about building in a way that will bring them the greatest slice of the opportunity without risk of being closed down. Now there is no doubt that regulation is not the friend of decentralization. By definition it cannot be as regulation is centralist.
Much more worrying was the interview I watched yesterday with the Chariman of the SEC, Jay Clayton. He is the archetype centralist.
I’ve always found it curious that Hirji seems to serve as the public face of Coinbase as opposed to Brian Armstrong.
Again, i recognize that some regulation/compliance is always going to be needed, i just think that the speed with which Coinbase seems willing to comply without question is troublesome.
Some of Jay Clayton’s commens have been troubling, but it seems he at least has the sense to leave Bitcoin itself alone. If he starts fucking over ICO’s and smaller tokens, it’ll suck, but it won’t be the end of the world.
And even if ypur right in terms of Coinbase’s compliance practices, that still does not explain their banning of wikileaks, which is perhaps the most troubling thin of all here.
I notice Asiff Hirji because I know him
Jay Clayton was absolutely going after ICOs. Worst part is he did not seem to be clear whether they needed specific frameworks or not. He just lumped them into the overall securities basket like shares.
I notice Aside because I know him
Jay Clayton was absolutely going after ICOs. Worst part is he did not seem to be clear whether they needed specific framework. He just lumped them into the overall securities basket like shares.