Coinbase held its annual State of Crypto summit on Friday, attended by major industry figures including Ark Invest CEO and veteran investing guru and crypto enthusiast Cathie Wood, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

In an interview on the critical steps needed to drive crypto innovation and increase economic freedom around the globe, Armstrong, an outspoken critic of the SEC’s stance, spoke again on the need for regulatory clarity.

“Unfortunately the US is a little behind on this. Europe has already passed comprehensive crypto legislation. We’ve seen most of the G20 is drafting or has already implemented crypto legislation,” he said.

“So there’s broadly this recognition that this technology is here to stay, it has incredible innovative potential, we need to prevent consumer harm … the Senate is very eager to move on legislation now after the House passed the FIT21 bill with strong bipartisan support.”

SEC Chair Gary Gensler could “literally cost Joe Biden the election.”

Mark Cuban

The event was held in collaboration with the Financial Times and panel discussions covered a wide range of topics including institutional adoption, global regulatory frameworks, future payment systems, and crypto’s role in a portfolio.

“In the first half of the year, positive catalysts like the spot bitcoin ETF launches in the US and Blackrock’s tokenized BUIDL fund unlocked access to new capital and also signaled increasing onchain adoption,” Coinbase said. “By all accounts, this trend only appears to be accelerating as more institutions venture into the space and onchain technology and tooling matures.”

At the same event, investor Mark Cuban made bold statements about the role of crypto in the upcoming US election, saying SEC Chair Gary Gensler could “literally cost Joe Biden the election.”

He called the SEC’s registration process a “uniquely American Gary Gensler problem.”

SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda meanwhile spoke on the merits of tokenization.

Gemini $50m settlement

The New York State Attorney General has recovered $50m from the Gemini exchange for defrauded investors.

More than 230,000 investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, were defrauded after investing in the Gemini Earn program.

“Gemini marketed its Earn program as a way for investors to grow their money, but actually lied and locked investors out of their accounts.”

Letitia James, New York Attorney General

Gemini misled thousands of investors on the risks associated with Gemini Earn, an investment program it offered alongside Genesis.

Genesis, which filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, agreed to a $2 billion settlement in January. Victims reportedly contributed $1.1 billion to Genesis through the Gemini Earn investment program.

“Gemini marketed its Earn program as a way for investors to grow their money, but actually lied and locked investors out of their accounts,” Attorney General Letitia James said.

“Today’s settlement will make defrauded investors whole and should remind cryptocurrency companies that deceiving investors is illegal and will not be tolerated by my office.”

Attorney James has previously proposed nationwide crypto industry regulation in the form of the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency, and Oversight (CRPTO) Act.