U.S. regulators have been putting a lot of pressure on the cryptocurrency industry in recent months. In particular, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed lawsuits against major trading floors Binance and Coinbase, accusing them of selling unregistered securities. Due to the troubled regulatory environment in the U.S., many cryptocurrency executives are beginning to think about changing jurisdictions.<br
Despite this, Merkle Science co-founder Mriganka Pattnaik is optimistic. He is confident that in the medium term, cryptocurrency activity in the United States will continue. Pattnaik noted that India, China, and the UAE are working to strengthen the consumer market, while the U.S. has a higher level of innovation due to good talent pools. The main reason cryptocurrencies would prefer to maintain a presence in the U.S. is clarity of taxation, Pattnaik explained.
<blockquote
“My opinion differs from the rest, but I think in five years, most of the cryptocurrency companies’ operations will still be in the United States,” the Merkle Science executive predicted.
He acknowledged that the SEC’s recent enforcement action against Coinbase and Binance was harsh, but it may have been an overreaction to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Pattnaik is confident that over time, regulators will “calm down” and the U.S. will have clearer rules for overseeing crypto-assets.
Not everyone agrees with Pattnaik. For example, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes that because of the negative attitude of U.S. regulators towards cryptocurrencies, the U.S. will cease to be a leader in financial and technological innovation.<br