Despite recent narratives suggesting differently, the United States won’t be losing its allure as a crypto hub, according to the CEO of blockchain analytics firm Merkle Science.
A swathe of hostile regulatory actions leveled at crypto firms in the United States in recent months has led many top crypto executives to turn their gaze elsewhere.
Despite this, Mriganka Pattnaik, the co-founder and CEO of Merkle Science believes that crypto activity will remain in the country for at least the medium term.
“My opinion is a little bit contrarian here, but I do think that five years down the line, the majority of activity will still be in the United States.”
While Pattnaik noted that regions like India, China and the United Arab Emirates have “strong consumer markets,” the U.S. commands a much higher level of innovation and has a “deeper talent pool.”
Pattnaik also pointed to the “general market dynamics” of the American economy — specifically the clarity around taxation — as the key reasons for why crypto firms will likely choose to maintain the bulk of their operations in the United States.
Recent moves by U.S. regulators, namely the SEC against crypto firms, have created a narrative of “innovation” going offshore. In the wake of the FTX collapse, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong blamed unclear regulations for driving “95% of trading activity” away from U.S. soil.
https://t.co/0HxlRiI6Sy was an offshore exchange not regulated by the SEC.
The problem is that the SEC failed to create regulatory clarity here in the US, so many American investors (and 95% of trading activity) went offshore.
Punishing US companies for this makes no sense.
— Brian Armstrong ️ (@brian_armstrong) November 10, 2022
On April 18, Armstrong revealed that Coinbase might consider relocating its headquarters to the United Kingdom.
While Pattnaik admitted that recent government policymaking and the enforcement actions against Coinbase and Binance are undeniably harsh, all of this has been an “overreaction to everything that happened with FTX.”
“Over time things will become moderated and there’ll be a lot more clarity in the U.S.,” he added.
Related: Crypto industry ‘destined’ to be BTC-focused due to regulators: Michael Saylor
Unsurprisingly, not everyone is inclined to agree with Pattnaik.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Binance Dubai general manager Alex Chehade said that all large crypto firms — particularly those situated in the U.S. — are in…
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