Coinbase’s Role in Crypto: Customs and Enforcement?

Coinbase’s notoriety at creating massive pumps for coins centered around its role in Bitcoin Cash. The fork of BTC was scheduled for listing on Coinbase, and the announcement sent the price through the roof.

What many fail to notice is that this was during a massive bull run. And announcements for Coinbase listings since then have been met with smaller and smaller pumps, similar to the decreasing return of Binance listings.

That might change in the coming future. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin just appointed a new Chief Operating Officer to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). That person is Brian Brooks, who was the head lawyer for Coinbase. What is the OCC? This is an independent office within the Department of Treasury, that acts as an overseer of U.S. Banks.

Having someone who is pro-crypto within the Treasury Department is pretty huge, and a giant step from a decade ago when Bitcoin was just beginning. Having someone who is explicitly pro-Crypto could prove to be a gamechanger for the market, should it survive the next year of market crashing.

Not only could this lead to more sensible crpyot regulations, the current landscape of which in the U.S. are, plainly, dogshit. But it could also lead to a larger role for Coinbase as the main driving force for what is considered ‘clean’ crypto. Should Brooks push for his pet project of a digitalized version of the U.S. Dollar, he could choose to make it that only one exchange has that on offer: Coinbase.

If Coinbase gets seen as the sole ‘official’ or ‘verified’ or ‘trusted’ exchange for U.S. citizens, it will continue to grab up users and their deposits. Yes, that means it should be far easier in the future to deposit funds into Coinbase. But it also could lead to a monopoly of choice. Coinbase doesn’t like your project? It crashes. Coinbase thinks a competitor exchange is shady? They can get their boy to shut them down.

Will this mean that Coinbase pushes a digital USD dollar? Will this reduce the need for all cryptos promising “cross border payments”?  

My guess is that Coinbase will continue to try monopolizing the onboard of fiat into crypto for U.S. customers, and function as a customs-house for what coins are considered 'safe'.