Okay, we’ll pile on now. One of the most important competitive advantages of developed economies is the ability to craft business strategy and execute with a firm foundation of regulatory clarity and rule of law. Today, the lack of transparent regulatory guidance, clear roadmaps to compliance, and the general hostile rhetoric and actions by some regulators means these crucial foundations are non-existent in the United States. This topic and its ramifications are the most pressing issue for our industry today and dominated our various conversations at Consensus this week.
While we are no fans of “poking the bear” as a rule, Coinbase’s efforts to use the rule of law more offensively against the SEC is a sign of the times (Coinbase Blog Post). This week we were also guided by one of our industry’s most “legislative facile” lobbyists that congressional legislation isn’t likely in the foreseeable future given the political tones today. The moral of the story is that the courts appear to be the only open solution near-term. Patience will continue to be tested.