Susan Friedman, a policy executive at American blockchain payments firm Ripple Labs Inc, has taken a jab at the current regulatory landscape in the United States and Europe and how it is impacting innovation migration. Responding to a tweet from the GOP House Financial Services, which believes the regulation-by-enforcement tactic is reducing American competitiveness and pushing firms overseas, Friedman said the claims are not overstated.
According to her, many crypto industry players are already migrating to places like Europe, where the rules of the road are clear thanks to the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation. The MiCA has scaled through all the necessary approvals by the European Union tripartite body, including Parliament and the commission.
Regulatory impasse in the United States has frequently been called out by industry leaders who want a different rule book for the dynamic crypto ecosystem. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has said time and again that the current securities laws are sufficient for the crypto industry and that there is no need to update them.
Summarizing her views on the state of crypto regulation and its impact, Friedman said the "US regulatory paralysis has real, measurable impact in terms of jobs and investment lost."
Thorn for Ripple, and more
The lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. served as a very costly thorn in the side of Ripple, which has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020.
Beyond Ripple, a number of other crypto companies have also fallen prey to the SEC's enforcement actions regarding supposed securities offerings. Kraken exchange, for instance, was fined the sum of $30 million for its staking service, while Coinbase was specifically restrained from providing earn-as-a-service in order not to face enforcement action.
With the House GOP committed to rewriting what the current norm is, more companies may eventually gain solid footing to operate in the U.S. without ending up on the wrong side of the law.