The U.S. is lagging behind in passing crypto regulations, which could lead to 1 million developer jobs and 3 million other high-paying crypto jobs fleeing abroad, according to Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase.
In a interview Speaking to Kitco News, Grewal said these jobs are “not rhetorical,” adding:
“If these jobs are coming, and we know they are, wouldn’t we want at least a fair share of them here in the United States? I think the answer to that is obvious: it is yes.”
Grewal believes that if the US does not quickly adopt crypto regulations, the industry will suffer the same fate as the US semiconductor industry. He said that over the past 30 years the semiconductor industry, which has been developed and grown largely in the U.S., “has somehow found its way to countries far from the United States and to countries that may not always serve the interests of the United States.” States have.”
Grewal emphasized the importance of the industry, citing the number of crypto owners in the US – 52 million – far exceeds the number of people who have driven electric cars or used ride-sharing services. Therefore, he added, Coinbase does not want the US to repeat the same mistake it made with semiconductors, with crypto. He said:
In thirty years we don’t want to ask: ‘Who lost crypto?’”
Not all bad news
Noting that 83% of G20 countries have already adopted or are in the process of adopting crypto regulatory frameworks, Grewal said there is no denying that the US is losing the race. While the future of crypto is bleak if the country doesn’t pass legislation, Grewal says it’s not too late.
He said:
“The United States is falling behind – that’s the bad news. The good news is that there is still plenty of time to catch up. The US can still do this well, but it is time for us to take action.”
Grewal said there are positive crypto regulations pending in the House of Representatives, which if passed could correct the country’s trajectory. However, passing the legislation depends on US crypto owners making their views known and making it clear that “they want to see sensible, fair and balanced regulation applied to digital assets.”
Without such action from crypto owners and companies, the US “will lose this opportunity. We are going to lose this moment,” Grewal said.
There is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater
Grewal agreed that the crypto industry is often the target of scams, fraud and hacks. He believes it is appropriate that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken legal and enforcement action against such malicious actors. But “that’s no reason to throw the whole baby out with the bathwater,” he said.
According to Grewal, the crypto industry exodus will not be a loss because it will affect speculators and traders, but because it will close the doors to future innovation. Crypto and blockchain will have far-reaching use cases such as decentralized identities, decentralized medical records, and others. However, these use cases “must be given the time and space to take root and grow, which is why we believe sensible regulation can play an important role.