The starting point is what does that mean for coin bases business?
How does this complicate things for them going forward?
Well, I think a couple things are interesting here, and you have them
clearing the record here and seeing them as a qualified custodian.
Even under these new proposed rules that it's still unclear on how long they
would take to become real rules. Given the feedback that they're getting
overall, remember, even though you have Coinbase here kind of applauding certain
parts of this process here, Coinbase has such a nuanced relationship with the
S.E.C. They applaud certain parts of this
rulemaking process. But remember, there are other things
that they heavily dispute, such as something that the S.E.C.
feels about staking. Even when it comes to this qualified
custodian issue, remember, Coinbase is one you have other members of the crypto
community. A little more concern.
Jake Stravinsky, for example, the BLOCK Chain Association voicing his
frustrations online about how these proposed changes could violate the FTSE
mission by making investors less safe and discouraging capital formation.
And I have to say, when you look at the other S.E.C.
commissioners that have weighed in. There are a number that have also voiced
concerns about the amount of qualified custodians, what happens outside of
Coinbase in this industry. Remember both because Bitcoin was up
over the 24 hour period, as well as some positive, frankly, regulatory news
reporting bass. You saw the shares just completely
ripping today. But again, there are some things on the
sidelines like the staking issue, which remains to be unresolved.
Let's go outside the well to Coinbase, largely because my husband's a manager
over there, so I want to talk about it too much.
But I'm interested in your world outside it.
What other ripple effects? What is a crypto at large?
B, reading and the FCC crackdown, is it? Where did the ripple effects go?
Well, outside of Coinbase. I was saying the reason this matters so
much is because we reported a couple of times this week that the FCC and other
regulators have largely been whispering to the rest of the financial industry,
saying that, listen, your relationship to crypto matters to you and by the way,
could open you up to more liabilities. So if you're a hedge fund, do you have
to worry about how your assets are custody?
It's interesting because let's see how the next twelve months play out, because
as that force these hedge funds like a Brian Howard or others to start working
with the likes of a coin based more what happens to something like the NY Mellon
you have, for example, just a couple of days ago, Brian, on from talking about
how institutional interest has grown in this space.
Even despite some of the crypto winter issues.
But what happens as the S.E.C. brings down a stronger arm on the
industry? Do the traditional players start to get
a little spooked? Is the main question.
And to take it full circle, back to why the S.E.C.
is so rankled about crypto and why in many ways people are saying acting with
hindsight, it's because what happened with FDA X bring us up to speed.
What's happening with the founder of FTSE?
Sam, I'm afraid it's been all over the press today.
What a day. This has been weeks where we knew that
Sam Bang been freed as well as his lawyers have been trying to get the name
of the guarantors behind this really record setting bail package.
This bond is under 50 million dollar bond secret.
But now we have the judge really saying that this doesn't apply to these
particular instances because these guarantors decided to be involved in
such a public case. These are two people that are very
closely, closely related to the parents of Sam Bank and Freed.
Remember, this is Barbara Freed and Joseph Bank men who are worse than
Stanford law professors. Remember, this is one of the people
involved in the Garen Guarantor program. Here's Larry Kramer, who is a Stanford
law dean, a legal historian alongside Barbara Freed for a very long time.
And if you take a look at the statement here, really, he makes it very, very
personal. He has nothing to say about the legal
matter itself. But his family has faced a harrowing
battle with cancer, he says, and the bank and freed family is in the truest
of friends. And so this is a very personal matter
for him to show up for the bank and freed family in a time of need,
according to a statement provided to us on Wednesday.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Sam Bateman, freed does face court in New York again to
discuss his bail conditions. Remember, there have been a lot of
questions about how he's been communicating with people via signal and
other means in the course of his house arrest here, where he is living with his
family on essentially what is land and property owned ultimately by Stanford as
well.