Brian Armstrong Defies SEC, Vows To Stay In US: 'There Is No Break-Glass Plan'

Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong has expressed his commitment to continue operations in the U.S., even if it loses its ongoing lawsuit against the Securities and Exchanges Commission.

He also expressed his firm's determination to challenge the cease and desist orders issued by ten state regulators against the company's staking service and on the contrary, eventually extend staking services across all 50 states in the United States, Financial Times reported.

Armstrong expressed his disappointment with states like California, which are perceived as global technology leaders, for their stance against staking.

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"It was really disappointing to see states like California, which are in theory technology leaders globally, taking that stance. I do feel it was a mistake that they did that," Armstrong stated.

When asked about the possibility of Coinbase relocating to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions, as several other digital asset companies are doing in response to America's regulatory pressure on the industry, Armstrong dismissed the idea.

"It’s not even in the realm of possibility right now. There is no break-glass plan. We’re staying in the United States," he affirmed.

Armstrong reiterated Coinbase's commitment to remain in the United States, even if it loses its case against the SEC. "Those licenses we’re acquiring internationally are not contingency plans, they’re international expansion plans," he added.

In what he described as the "worst-case scenario," Armstrong suggested that Coinbase might have to delist the 13 crypto tokens listed as securities in the regulator’s lawsuit against the exchange. This was later denied by a Coinbase spokesperson.

"We have about 240 assets listed on the platform, the SEC case references 13 of them, so this is not an existential issue for us, it’s actually business as usual," he said, adding that the loss of these tokens would probably not constitute "a substantial or material amount of revenue."

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