The crypto industry’s leaders and U.S. regulators have few kind words to say about each other these days. Coinbase CEO Brian Amstrong has slammed the Securities and Exchange Commission for “some really sketchy behavior.” SEC Chair Gary Gensler has likened the industry to the Wild West—or a casino.
But Joseph Lubin, 57, who co-founded the Ethereum blockchain behind ether, bitcoin’s biggest rival, and runs the 500-person startup ConsenSys, is feeling more charitable toward the financial regulators that are threatening to patrol crypto’s frontier lands.
In a Zoom interview from his home in Brooklyn, he said he thinks Gensler is under a lot of pressure and may deserve what he’s asked Congress for: greater authority to govern the industry.
“[The SEC] may have legit arguments in the cases that are being discussed right now,” he said. “I don’t believe the SEC is trying to squelch innovation."
