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On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, we sat down with Brian Armstrong to talk about what's going on with crypto in Canada and what the future holds for the industry.
What is your reaction to the bad headlines around crypto lately?
“We have to acknowledge that there's been some bad actors in this space. It's early days. It's new. We've seen crypto prices actually rally in the last 30 days because we've cleaned out a lot of the bad actors. And now that regulatory clarity is emerging, I think we can close that chapter. Like the early days of the internet, it was the Wild West. But the companies that are going to stand the test of time are on shore, regulated, and trying to follow the rules.”
What are some of the best use cases for crypto moving forward?
“In Canada, about 15% of the population has tried crypto, and about 30% are planning to. Many use cases already have billions in value locked up in them. There are Stablecoins. There’s decentralized finance, or DeFi, which creates new ways for people to borrow and lend. NFTs, despite having come down a lot, are still a big category. We’re seeing a lot of boom and bust, but after every one of these cycles, the floor always ends up higher.”
How is Coinbase thinking about its own position in Canada?
“We’ve been live and technically in Canada for a while, but it was very limited. Then, in August, we completed our pre-registration undertaking with the regulator. We launched an integration with Interact. We've made a big investment in the market. We feel like regulatory clarity is emerging, and we have a productive relationship with regulators, good integration with payments, and incredible access to talent where we'll hopefully be creating more jobs.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Listen to the full conversation here.