Bitcoin: How Super Tuesday gave political ‘opportunity’ to crypto users

In the aftermath of Super Tuesday, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer (COIN) Faryar Shirzad joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how the election could impact crypto markets and the broader digital asset ecosystem.

Shirzad views the results of Super Tuesday as an “opportunity” for Americans who own cryptocurrencies to “show they want to be a part of the political process.” He expresses his continuous surprise at the rapid growth rate of people using cryptocurrencies, particularly on the Coinbase platform, and considers Super Tuesday a chance for them to “demonstrate that they can turn out in force” when provided the necessary tools.

The opportunity for new users in the crypto space is “enormous,” Shirzad says. He cites the global adoption of “clear workable rules” and the “convergence of interest” among lawmakers worldwide, which has expanded Coinbase’s reach globally. Shirzad hopes that this US election will serve as “a turning point” that allows for clear and consistent regulation of cryptocurrencies moving forward.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Well, Bitcoin regaining some momentum today, heading back towards its recent record high. While the markets digest the latest price swings, there are some other key events looking to test the crypto space. We got the results from Super Tuesday, also the State of the Union Address.

We want to bring in Faryar Shirzad. He’s Coinbase’s chief policy officer for more on the state of crypto. Faryar, it’s great to have you back here on “Yahoo Finance.” Let’s start with the results of Super Tuesday.

The fact that certain candidates were able to win. How much is that going to then potentially advance crypto’s agenda and be a catalyst for the price of Bitcoin in the months and years to come?

FARYAR SHIRZAD: It’s a good question. I don’t know how much it will be a catalyst for the price of Bitcoin. But it’s been an opportunity for the 52 million Americans who own crypto to really show that they want to be a part of the political process.

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We started at Coinbase, a grassroots movement through the Stanford crypto organization. And we’ve been continuously surprised and quite excited by the degree to which our community wants to get involved. We have about 300,000 people who signed up to be advocates. And Super Tuesday was a great opportunity to demonstrate that they can turn out in force, when they’re given the tools to do so.

So it’s a great start. And we’re excited for the community to be a part of the political process going through the election year this year.

BRAD SMITH: Yeah. And it’s not even just here in the US. We’re talking a record year for people expected to participate in elections around the world. How does that change the trajectory, even for where Coinbase sees some of those potential opportunities in new users?

FARYAR SHIRZAD: Well, the opportunity is enormous. Remember, Coinbase started with very much of a commitment to compliance and meeting the regulatory expectations in all the markets in which we operate.

Once you step out of the United States with a couple of exceptions, most jurisdictions, and, definitely, all the major financial centers are adopting really clear workable rules. So you have a real collaboration or a convergence of interests between the crypto community and policymakers in the EU and the UK, Singapore, Australia, Brazil, Canada, where there are sensible rules being put into place.

We’re earlier in that process in the US. We’ve had a lot of politicization of the crypto issue, unfortunately. And we’re hopeful that same trajectory of constructive collaboration with the crypto community to develop good rules will happen here in the US. And we’re excited for this election to be a turning point for that to happen.

SEANA SMITH: Faryar, I’m curious to get a little bit more of your thoughts on that, just in terms of the prospects for regulatory clarity. What needs to happen? How confident are you through the conversations that you are having with those down in DC that we are going to see some progress on this front?

FARYAR SHIRZAD: I’m very confident. The issue is really timing, whether it’s this year or next. But there’s a consensus now. And the White House is very much a part of this that we need stablecoin legislation. And so Democrats, Republicans, House, Senate, White House, and Congress all are on the same page that we need to move on stablecoins.

Now, obviously, the issues are hard. There’s some tough issues that have to get resolved like with any piece of legislation. But I think there’s a decent chance that we’ll get some progress, and, maybe, even enactment of a stablecoin bill this year.

On the market structure side, I think there’s a consensus emerging that we need to do that as well. But the political calendar is tight. Congress is, obviously, going to be turning to the elections. The presidential race is on. So that’s going to be a little bit of a different calculus timing wise.

But I expect that we’ll see progress continuously in terms of co-sponsors or members of staff stepping up and saying, I want to be a part of this debate. And I think that’s very exciting for all of us in the community.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah. And shaking off the stigma surrounding FTX, is that a thing of the past? Or is that something that you’re still hearing within some of those conversations that you’re having?

FARYAR SHIRZAD: Well, in a funny way, we all want FTX in the industry. In some ways, we want FTX as an issue to go away. But in other ways, it should be front and center. It’s a real warning sign to all of us about what happens when there’s not a clear, organized federal framework, and regulators that have a clear mandate to oversee the space.

And so you have FTX, a foreign-based, foreign platform exchange operating outside of US rules, engaging in the type of behavior that they, ultimately, were found to have engaged in. And so if policymakers want to avoid another FTX, a federal market structure bill is the way to do that.

Give the CFTC authority to regulate crypto commodities. Give the SEC some direction on how to create a pathway for issuers to issue a crypto securities. And I think we’ll go well on our way to avoiding another FTX. And which, I think is critical and a shared interest of everybody in the industry and policymakers.

BRAD SMITH: Now, that we’re past Super Tuesday, it’s clearly a rematch now between former President Trump and current President Biden. Is there a better candidate that you expect the crypto community to rally around?

FARYAR SHIRZAD: Well, I think our job in the industry is to set the table for the candidates to decide where they want to be on the crypto issue. It’s been amazing to watch congressional candidates one after the other really important races throughout the country, including Adam Schiff, who came out first in the California primary on Super Tuesday, to step up and say, we need to keep this innovation here in the US. The builders and innovators in California that are part of the vitality of the state. And I, as the candidate, want them to stay and build here.

Adam Schiff did that. I think that worked well for him. We’ve had a couple of other candidates do that that were on the ballot on Super Tuesday. But there’s a lot of candidates who’ve stepped up, put their hands up, and they’ve said, I stand with crypto. And we’re very heartened by that.

And we’re hoping the presidential candidates will take the opportunity to speak to the 50 million Americans just like some of the Congressional candidates have.

BRAD SMITH: Faryar Shirzad, thanks so much for taking the time here with us this morning, Coinbase Chief policy officer. Appreciate it.

FARYAR SHIRZAD: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.

BRAD SMITH: Certainly.