Brian Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer of Coinbase, is set to hold a meeting with Democrats from the United States House of Representatives this Wednesday. According to a report by Bloomberg, the Coinbase CEO will be meeting with the New Democrat Coalition behind closed doors to discuss a range of issues.
Coinbase CEO To Engage Democrat Lawmakers On Crypto Regulation
Founded in 1997, the New Democrat Coalition claims to be one of the largest Democratic Caucuses in the House, consisting of about 100 members dedicated to “pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies.”
According to Bloomberg, democratic aides close to the matter have revealed that Armstrong will be engaging members of this caucus on issues including digital-asset legislation, tax, national security, privacy, and climate.
The Coinbase CEO has always been vocal about the need for clear regulations in the American crypto space especially following the heavy regulatory measures meted out by the United State Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this year.
Following a meeting with the SEC in April, Armstrong expressed his view on the importance of regulators establishing a policy before enforcement rather than the other way around. He further hinted that there may be a need for the US Congress to finally weigh in on the issue.
Since then, US lawmakers from the House and Senate have introduced 2 distinct bills aimed at bringing clarity to the crypto space. However, each bill proposes separate agencies to assume control of the market.
For context, the bill released by the House would require crypto exchanges to register with the SEC to trade digital assets, commodities, stablecoins, and other related assets. On the other hand, the Senate bill proposes granting authority to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to supervise and regulate the operations of crypto exchanges.
Total Crypto Market Cap Valued At $1.16 Trillion On The Hourly Chart | Source: TOTAL Chart On Tradingview.com
Coinbase Remains In Court With The SEC
In other news, Brian Armstrong’s planned meeting with the New Democrat Coalition comes as the Coinbase exchanges face a lawsuit by the SEC.
As earlier stated, the SEC has been on a roll all year with regulatory crackdowns on various crypto players, including Binance, Gemini, Bittrex, and Coinbase, among others.
In its statement released on June 6, the SEC stated it is suing Coinbase on the grounds of the crypto firm operating as an “unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.”
Related Reading: SEC Wants Blood: Coinbase Sued 1 Day After Binance
In response, Coinbase stated that the SEC had not created a “clear rule book” for the crypto space and would not mind going to court to “finally get some clarity around crypto rules.”
Last week Thursday, July 13, both parties met in court for the first time in a pre-motion hearing headed by Judge Katherine Polka Falia.
On that same day, the US court ruled that XRP is not a security in the ongoing Ripple vs SEC case. Amidst the euphoria that swept the crypto space due to that judgment, Coinbase market shares rose by over 33% in the next 24 hours.