US Could Lose Crypto Pole Position to UAE, Korea, Australia, and Switzerland: Ark Invest

Jimmy Aki
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As the regulatory whirlwind continues to blow in the crypto space, Ark Invest’s analyst, Yassine Elmandjra, boldly claims that the US could end up playing second fiddle to countries like the UAE and Korea.

Hostility Breeds Contempt

In a newsletter labeled ‘#367: Regulatory Uncertainty Around Digital Assets Puts Innovation In The United States At Risk, & More,’ Yassine Elmandjra stated that the US could end up at the end of a short stick due to its hostile regulatory stance surrounding crypto assets.

According to Elmandjra, if the US does not find a more dynamic way of supervising the nascent financial landscape, it risks losing its position as a global leader in the crypto industry.

Consequently, it could lose its crypto edge to countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Korea, Australia, and Switzerland, now positioning themselves as crypto havens for many.

Elmandjra highlighted that the recent decision by major crypto trading companies, Jane Street Group and Jump Trading, to limit their US crypto exposure signaled the risks the North American giant was running into.

He pointed out that the US’ former glory as a hotbed for credible and established crypto businesses to operate from was currently hanging in the balance, given that more of these crypto-native businesses are putting their plans on hold.

Nothing is more convincing than relevant data to back up an argument, and Elmandjra does not shy away from presenting the needed facts.

Quoting a CoinMetrics report on Bitcoin liquidity in the US, Elmandjra pointed out that the foremost cryptocurrency’s liquidity volume slipped 75% from $20 billion to roughly $4 billion.

This indicates a pull away of institutional interests in trading digital assets in the world’s largest economy.

However, Elmandjra is not the only one fed up with the lack of regulatory clarity by US government agencies, especially the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss recently poked fun at the US authorities, who, according to him, were fighting over crypto regulations like ‘high schoolers’ in a May 20 tweet.

According to the Winklevoss twins, other nations like Indonesia are becoming more receptive to crypto while working on making their regions innovative hubs for their citizens.

Other US native crypto businesses have also taken their business to more regulatory-friendly regions to avoid all the drama on the US shores.

One such is Strike which has recently made El Salvador its global base of operations.

The company said their decision would better enable them to serve billions of customers around the globe.

More Crypto Companies Zooming Off

Ark Invest is one of the world’s largest asset management firms, with $14 billion in total assets locked.

Headed by pro-crypto portfolio manager Cathie Wood, Ark Invest has continued to stamp its mark in the crypto space, and the company is reportedly one of the key investors in the Coinbase exchange.

Wood is especially fond of Bitcoin and has not been shy to make bold calls on how much the foremost blockchain-based asset would be worth in the future.

According to a recent report, the Ark Invest founder and CEO has recently put her BTC price target at $1.48 million by 2030 in a strong bull run and $258,500 in a bear market within the same period.

If that is the case, the US could potentially lose out on several key economic opportunities, given the continued flight of crypto businesses.

Coinbase, which still holds a center in the country, has been forced to launch an international derivatives exchange outside the confines of the US.

The exchange is closed to all US residents.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.