Coinbase CEO backed Treasury’s shift on crypto regulation, urging crime crackdowns that protect innovation, privacy, and free speech without punishing open-source technology.
Coinbase to Treasury: Let’s Crush Crypto Crime Without Killing Innovation
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), has endorsed the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s decision to reverse sanctions on Tornado Cash, describing the move as a meaningful step for privacy rights and free speech.
He expressed his support Thursday on social media platform X, reacting to the government’s filing in Van Loon v. Department of the Treasury: “No one wants to see bad folks use crypto. But privacy is an important feature for many law abiding citizens, and you can’t sanction open source code (it’s a free speech issue).” The Coinbase executive added:
Glad to see this get fixed. We look forward to working with Treasury to find ways to combat the ~0.1% of illicit activity in crypto (far less than cash or the banking system!) in ways that are in line with American laws and values.
Tornado Cash, a decentralized privacy protocol, was blacklisted by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2022 due to its alleged role in laundering stolen cryptocurrency linked to North Korean hackers.
In its updated position, the Treasury acknowledged the legal complexity of applying financial sanctions to open-source technologies operating without centralized control. The department pointed to the difficulty of targeting financial tools that exist in decentralized digital environments. While lifting the sanctions, officials reaffirmed their commitment to countering the use of digital assets by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The Treasury stated:
We remain deeply concerned about the significant state-sponsored hacking and money laundering campaign aimed at stealing, acquiring, and deploying digital assets for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Kim regime.
“Digital assets present enormous opportunities for innovation and value creation for the American people. Securing the digital asset industry from abuse by North Korea and other illicit actors is essential to establishing U.S. leadership and ensuring that the American people can benefit from financial innovation and inclusion,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented.
The legal reversal marks a significant moment in the debate over how to regulate emerging financial technologies without infringing on constitutional protections. Armstrong’s remarks reinforced Coinbase’s broader position that open-source software should not be criminalized and that targeted enforcement efforts can coexist with innovation. His call to work with the Treasury signals an industry-government collaboration aimed at reducing crime without compromising civil liberties.
