The cryptocurrency space has grown significantly over the past few years, but this growth has also attracted regulatory scrutiny. Regulations for the crypto space have been a heated topic, and Coinbase is taking the initiative to ensure that the market is regulated correctly.
The Coinbase exchange is currently taking a new initiative to change the debate on crypto regulations through the “global crypto-native think tank.” The think tank will provide an insight into the global cryptocurrency sector.
Coinbase launches a global crypto-native think tank
The launch of the Coinbase Institute was revealed on Tuesday, and this institute will “cut across many disciplines and provide expert analysis and insights about what’s happening in the global crypto economy.”
The director of the institute, Hermine Wong, who is a previous staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission and State Department, has said that the institute’s priority was to disseminate and provide peer-reviewed research regarding the sector. The deal will also involve an academic partnership with the University of Michigan to assess the local adoption of crypto assets and change the market’s perception of the market.
The Coinbase Institute has already released the first report dubbed “Crypto and the Climate”, which argues about the cryptocurrency space’s energy use. The report says that the high energy consumed in the sector was justified, claiming that the crypto sector promoted the efficiency of the energy sector and supported long-term sustainability.
Wong noted that the Coinbase Institute was different from other nonprofit think tanks such as the Brookings Institute and The Atlantic Council. However, the research divisions of leading companies such as JPMorgan Chase and Microsoft had inspired the model of the Coinbase Institute. Wong did not reveal the financial details of the institute that would be virtual in its entirety.
The advisory board of this institute will include professors from some of the largest education institutions, such as Harvard, Duke, MIT and John Hopkins. Leading tech firms such as Google partner with leading academic bodies is a strategy that uses these individuals in the political sector.
Coinbase CEO pushes for crypto education
The launch of the “think tank” is also in line with the goals of the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong. The executive has previously said that there were discrepancies in the media details in the crypto space, noting that the information in the sector was misguiding and wrong.
This is not the first move taken by Armstrong to boost the educative offerings of the space. A year ago, Armstrong unveiled the Coinbase Fact Check service. Armstrong said that the service would allow the company to release the truth and respond to the false and malicious information released by the media.
The Coinbase Fact Check service attracted support from the cryptocurrency space due to its focus on shedding light on the facts and myths in the sector. However, the move also attracted scepticism, with some questioning how the Coinbase media division would be different from the other in-house media teams in the sector.
Coinbase also announced it would be leaving the Blockchain Association, a lobbying group. Instead, the company announced it would be supporting the Crypto Council for Innovation, which has also attracted other top crypto players such as Block, formerly known as Square, Fidelity, and the Paradigm venture fund.
The Crypto Council for Innovation has attracted enough funding. However, the group does not have any significant effect on policy debates, but executives have said that the group’s influence in lobbying efforts will be heightened in the coming months.
