Chief executive of crypto exchange Coinbase sums up the top hurdles to widespread adoption of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
In a podcast with investor Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Brian Armstrong shares what he believes to be the biggest thorns on the side of the crypto industry.
“I think there are challenges just in terms of scalability, usability, and then privacy, and security on these blockchains. If we go from dial-up to broadband and all those kinds of things, that will be a huge unlock.”
Armstrong also emphasizes the need for clear regulatory frameworks to catalyze wider crypto adoption.
“There’s definitely some regulatory component to it. Right now there are a lot of startups that are trying to be created…. A lot of the regulatory environment is still unclear for them about ‘is this a security, what kind of security regulations might we trip up if you do this’ and so there’s all these kinds of different exemptions and stuff that people are trying to jump through hoops to try to make it work.”
The Coinbase head also mentions that the crypto exchange is working on a project to remove some of the challenges crypto startups face as they navigate through token issuance, custody, and governance.
“So we’re trying to think about how we at Coinbase can help that. We’re working on a project. We’ll probably call it ‘Coinbase Launch’ or something like that. But it’s a way for anyone who wants to do a crypto startup to come in and say ‘alright I want to issue a token, maybe I want to raise money, maybe I just want to use it to build my community,’ and just hand hold people through that process and help them with the custody of it. Help them create the smart contracts. Help them with the governance issues… That could be a huge unlock for the crypto economy as well, to get a thousand new crypto startups built like that.”
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