Coinbase, Fidelity, and Square Form a Cryptocurrency Council to Lobby Regulators

As nations are dabbling with establishing legislative frameworks on the cryptocurrency industry, several giants have formed a coalition to lobby policy makers and conduct researches to ensure the proper implementation of such rules. 

• According to a Wall Street Journal coverage from today, the prominent names to participate in the new initiative are the mutual fund behemoth Fidelity Investments, the financial service provider Square, the crypto-focused investment company Paradigm, and the largest US-based digital asset exchange Coinbase. 
• Dubbed the Crypto Council for Innovation, the project aims to “lobby policymakers, take up research projects, and serve as the burgeoning industry’s voice in championing the economic benefits of digital currencies and related technologies.”  
• Fred Ehrsam, the CEO of Paradigm and the co-founder of Coinbase, weighed in on the matter, saying that the cryptocurrency industry is at a “mainstream inflection point.” He believes that crypto’s current situation resembles the Internet’s early days, meaning that it’s “very fragile.” 

• “It is challenging because policy makers want to balance risk and reward, and even people who spend time in this space would struggle to predict where this will go in the coming decade.” – he added. 

• In order to carry out the council’s agendas, it will appoint a board with members representing each of the four signing companies and build an executive team.  
• This initiative comes amid intriguing times for cryptocurrency regulations. Numerous countries have brought various rules on how they should legally interact with digital assets. Some of the names include Russia, South Korea, the UK, Spain, and the US. 
• When it comes down to the US in particular, it’s worth noting that FinCEN proposed new legislation in late 2020 that could affect all digital asset businesses based in the country.  
• While those rules are yet to become official, Coinbase was among the most vocal opponents and sent multiple letters to lawmakers urging them to extend the commenting deadline and remove the proposals altogether.