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BitGo CEO says traditional financial firms will remain ‘mostly out’ of crypto
Mike Belshe highlighted regulatory challenges but said he believes crypto firms and traditional financial firms could create a stronger, derisked market together.
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BitGo CEO Mike Belshe commented on the state of U.S. cryptocurrency regulations in a conversation with CNBC on June 27.
CEO notes institutions’ regulatory concerns
Belshe suggested that regulators have adopted a stringent approach toward the crypto industry – forcing institutions and institutional investors to focus on regulations, adding:
“I think the net effect is that, here in the U.S., the traditional financial firms are going to remain mostly out … I know we’ve got Blackrock that’s coming in with an ETF, there’s going to be a few exceptions like that, which is great.”
Belshe also noted that U.S. regulators had faced opposition from key industry players — likely in reference to ongoing Binance and Coinbase cases — and observed that regulators outside the U.S. provide clearer regulator pathways.
Belshe posited that market downturns could stimulate demand for derisked market platforms, opening up opportunities. He suggested that crypto firms can build the necessary technology while traditional firms can cooperate with regulators effectively.
He argued that a strong U.S. Bitcoin market could emerge following current regulatory challenges and said this is “not going to be far away.”
BitGo aims to address past industry failures
Belshe noted that BitGo’s Go Network aims to address issues that led to failures like those at Silvergate Bank and FTX. He said Go Network would allow institutional investors to store crypto with a qualified custodian while those assets remain liquid and accessible.
He highlighted that other significant crypto industry players, like Bitstamp, INX, and Gate.io, have joined the Go Network as exchange partners.
Upon inquiry about the possibility of BitGo considering EDX Markets, backed by Wall Street, as a potential partner, Belshe affirmed it. Interestingly, EDX recently switched its custodial partner from Paxos to Anchorage, as reported on June 27.
As one of the largest crypto custodians, BitGo held more than $64 billion in digital assets under custody as of November 2021.