Cox recently befriended a young artist from Myanmar, to whom we’ll refer as Ei. She is creating beautiful, culturally rich digital art that explores her heritage. Art that the world needs to see and buy. Ei struggles. In-person banking with international remittance is a terrible experience, and with dollar for dollar moves, platforms like PayPal are taking 5%-10% off the top. Web3, a world of borderless transactions and direct artist to collector connections, might be her lifeline. Will it? Five years later, that question still lingers in my head. At the same time, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is calling for hastened crypto regulation in the UK.
Regulation: A Rising Tide for All?
On the surface this faster regulation seems like a victory. Legitimacy. Stability. Increased investment. Those are the guarantees we’ve heard in secret from the pro-regulation side. And yes, more users and more capital coming to the crypto space is a better thing for the whole ecosystem—freeing us all up to innovate more. One would hope that no country’s government would be so intent on repeating their history of reckless regulation. It’s looking to become the world’s next cryptocurrency center and new crypto-friendly Mecca. By 2026, they intend to have detailed regulations for all crypto assets established, putting an emphasis on clarifying the tax status of these assets and robustly regulating them. Sounds good, right?
Whose Needs Are Really Being Met?
Here's where my optimism falters. Or are these new regulations being crafted without Ai in consideration? Or worse, are they just designed to meet the needs of the biggest, old guard companies such as Coinbase? We must be careful of the story that what’s in the best interest of Coinbase is in the best interest of everybody. It’s the same as thinking that since the big new super Walmart is doing so well, the nearby farmers market should just win by proximity. Often, the opposite happens. That’s where the supermarket crushes everybody, and most of the other players can’t even survive.
Tom Duff Gordon, Coinbase's VP of International Policy, is playing a key role in shaping the UK's crypto policy. Ripple is clamoring for faster action. These are all indeed strong voices, but are they speaking on behalf of the Eiis of the world? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently developing rules in areas such as stablecoins, DeFi, and more. Let’s just hope they’re not going through the motions on this and truly looking to protect the little guys.
Innovation's Price: Regulations Too Soon?
Speed can be dangerous. Overly rapid regulation risks stifling innovation. Picture this Ei, the same equitable entrepreneur who had trouble accessing resources from the beginning, suddenly bombarded with a hurricane of compliance expenses. It’s akin to asking a street artist to just go deal with the high art permit dance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The barriers to entry become insurmountable. Will these regulations push artists toward more centralized platforms even more, thereby further marginalizing decentralized initiatives that might be better able to empower artists like Ei?
And then there’s the ambitious promise of unintended consequences. How does the UK plan to differentiate itself from the EU’s MiCA framework? In doing so, it risks overreaching and inadvertently creating loopholes that will harm consumers and stifle innovation. As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently cautioned, slow and cumbersome licensing processes will drive promising crypto startups out of the UK. Jumping unthinkingly into regulation without paying attention to the wider ramifications might be even more damaging.
Democratize The Web3 Conversation Now
The key here is accessibility. Whatever new policy we shape, it needs to be open and inclusive to creators and inventors, particularly those in the Global South. What they don’t need is a maze of legalese, they need clear, simple guidelines. To do this well, policymakers must center and reach out to artists, creatives and community members across disciplines and cultural backgrounds. Hold town halls. Solicit feedback. Listen to the forgotten voices.
I do fear a future where only large firms like Coinbase have the resources to navigate this complicated regulatory state. This would leave extremely talented artists like Ei to languish on the sidelines. The UK’s suggestion of not proposing stablecoin volume limits and allowing foreign stablecoins to operate without registration in the UK seems idealistic. As they say, the devil is ever in the details.
We need to ask ourselves: Are we building a Web3 ecosystem that truly empowers artists and creators, regardless of their location or background? Or are we just building a million-dollar sandbox for big companies to start playing in?
This is what the UK government says it wants to do—to promote innovation while protecting consumers. Real balance means that every voice needs a seat at the table, not just the industry heavyweights. It’s not too late to make sure that the UK’s crypto regulations really are a win for all artists—not just for Coinbase.
The conversation needs to shift. More than just attracting the big players, more focused on building a real democratic and fair Web3 ecosystem Ei’s future—and the future of thousands of other artists like her—depends on it. We can no longer accept a dog and pony show and we must demand more. We need to demand action.
