Brian Armstrong: Trump Administration Prepares Crypto Industry ‘Farewell Gift’

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shared his concerns about the plans of the administration of US President Donald Trump to tighten control over users of cryptocurrencies.

Last week we heard rumors that the U.S. Treasury and Secretary Mnuchin were planning to rush out some new regulation regarding self-hosted crypto wallets before the end of his term. I'm concerned that this would have unintended side effects, and wanted to share those concerns.

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) November 25, 2020

In his opinion, the initiative will oblige Coinbase and other financial companies to verify the owners of non-custodial wallets before withdrawing funds.

He pointed out the impracticality of collecting information about the recipient of the transaction in several cases: from transferring cryptocurrency to smart contract addresses for use in DeFi applications not associated with an individual or legal entity, to the unwillingness of recipients to transfer additional personal data.

What can this lead to?

As a result, users will refuse to withdraw funds to their own wallets and will start turning to unregulated platforms, Armstrong suggests. In his opinion, ultimately the situation threatens to lose the status of a financial center for the United States.

Coinbase and other representatives of the crypto industry outlined their concerns about possible regulatory measures in a letter to the DOJ.

The community has raised concerns about user identity control before Armstrong’s message. On November 18, the Washington-based organization for the promotion and protection of the interests of the bitcoin and blockchain industry Coin Center published an article on the implications of restrictions on anonymous wallets.

In November, the Blockchain Association presented a guide for legislators on this topic. Presumably, the post of the head of the US Treasury in the new administration of Joe Biden will be taken by the ex-head of the US Federal Reserve System Janet Yellen.

Previously, Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano called the news good for Bitcoin.

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