New York morning trade. We are seeing mixed trading for the crypto majors right now. We are looking at Bitcoin hovering right around the 84,000 level. Now the digital asset industry pushing past the failed Clarity Act and also weighing progress from the nation's regulators, the SEC unveiling its long awaited innovation exemption to support tokenized stocks.
Meanwhile, the CFTC has set new proposed crypto rules to the White House with a potential end to the bear market. The industry does appear comfortable with the regulatory agencies making clear rules to support DeFi innovation. Now, the GENIUS Act is also viewed in a favorable light when it comes to advancing the stablecoin industry.
We're also continuing to see building activity and announcements of DeFi integration. And along those lines, Coinbase speeding up its push to be the everything exchange announcing plans to offer retail traders early IPO access. Well, joining us to discuss crypto's regulatory backdrop is Ryan VanGrack, Coinbase's vice chairman.
Ryan, happy Friday and good morning. Thank you so much for joining us. So there has been a lot happening when it comes to crypto regulation. So the Senate recently blocked the Clarity Act from advancing in a cloture vote. But at the same time, given this legislation stalling, what do you think is a realistic pathway when it comes to Clarity?
And do you think the digital asset sector can afford to wait on legislators?
Taking a step back, DC politics often creates a lot of distracting noise, so it's important to also listen to investors and shareholders. And in that regard, the market has very clearly spoken. As you just noted, crypto prices are up since the Clarity Act vote about double digits. Coinbase stock is up double digits since the vote.
And innovation is continuing to accelerate. And that's because, Remy, there are always two paths to clear rules. There is legislation and there is regulation. And what we are seeing with legislation stalled is the SEC and the CFTC filling that void and offering a new wave of rulemaking and relief so that we can have that regulatory scaffolding.
So I think in the next few months, we're going to move past politics and actually see substantive rulemaking occur, which is going to benefit crypto investors, innovators and the public more broadly.
Yeah. And as you mentioned, there is plenty of noise out there. So oftentimes it can be very difficult to separate that signal. But I do want to zoom in on the SEC, which did issue a five year exemption allowing venues to trade tokenized U.S. equities on chain. So as a former SEC official, how game changing is this?
Tokenization is going to be the biggest upgrade to our financial system since we moved from paper to electronic trading. We call our system a modern financial system, and yet it still takes days to settle transactions. And when Wall Street goes home at night, our markets shut down. There's nothing modern about that.
And tokenization is the fix. It is the way for people to transact more easily, more cheaply, with lower barriers to entry, on a 24 over 7 basis. What's notable, Remy, is that this activity is already happening abroad. We have Coinbase already launched a tokenization hub in Dubai, and that's because for so long, the U.S. has lagged and has not had the regulatory infrastructure to allow us to bring this activity to the U.S. under U.S. standards.
And the SEC's innovation exemption is the first step along that path, because at the end of the day, everyone seems to recognize that it is a question of simply when tokenization transforms our market, not whether it will transform our market.
Yeah, and I do want to expand on this, especially as Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong noting that the industry cannot wait on Congress. And this does come as the SEC and CFTC coordinate through initiatives like Project Crypto. So how effectively can agencies, federal agencies, actually establish some clear market rules through guidance rather than legislation?
There's a lot that agencies have historically done and can do in this space. It's worth taking a step back, Remy, to realize the benefits of legislation. Why the industry fought so hard for it is because of its durability, because legislation can stand the test of time more easily than a rule or regulation.
But that does not overshadow the fact that historically, our financial markets are governed by rules and regulations, and those come from our financial regulators. So this is par for the course to have the SEC and the CFTC step in where Congress failed to act and fill that void. And what we are seeing is experienced regulators like Paul Atkins at the SEC and Mike Selig at the CFTC recognize that we need to plug in this gap in order to provide those clear rules, in order to protect investors and to allow this industry to flourish in the U.S.
So what we are seeing is not so unusual. It was simply the sequencing of letting Congress have its moment, take its shot. It failed to hit its mark. And so the regulators, as you can see, as you note, were poised to step in and fill that void. And they were doing just that.
Yeah. And Ryan, finally, before I let you go, I do want to talk about what we're seeing in terms of price action. So given the fact that on this Friday morning we are looking at Bitcoin holding on to that 84,000 level, at least for now. The crypto major has indeed captured over two thirds of recent market gains.
But at the same time, we're looking at altcoin flows which do remain fairly selective. So at a time when institutional allocators are looking for proven revenue models before capitalizing tokens, how are our trading dynamics evolving on Coinbase?
So I am generally less focused on short term movements than on long term trajectories. And in that regard, the story is quite promising. We're seeing accelerated pace of innovation in the space in areas like tokenized stocks and Atlantic trading. We're seeing accelerated pace of rulemaking, as you just noted at the SEC and the CFTC, we're seeing a growing institutional adoption in this space with more traditional finance firms partnering with companies like Coinbase.
And also, as you note, we're seeing sustained institutional demand in just the last several days. We've seen continued inflows in areas like Bitcoin ETFs. Each of these things in isolation could be a trend, but collectively they represent a new reality because they show that investment in capital and talent are continuing to flow into this industry, into trusted platforms like Coinbase, because this asset class and technology have proven that they are here to stay and that they will bring our financial system into the 21st century.
Well, Brian, a lot to keep our eyes on as we head into the final quarter of 2026. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us on this Friday morning, and thank you so much for your insights as well as your perspective.
