Peter Van Valkenburgh

Zero-knowledge cryptography is a critical technological arc for crypto and global finance because fully public ledgers are not viable long term. Zcash was the first scientific proof of concept, and Tornado Cash proved the technology at meaningful scale on Ethereum. Prosecuting Tornado Cash developers chills this innovation, making privacy and zero-knowledge crypto strategically important.

Peter states, "We do believe in common sense regulation of trusted persons in the space of companies like Coinbase... If you walk like a duck and you quack like a duck... we just think there should be equal treatment." Coin Center advocates for a bifurcated regulatory regime. While they fight to exempt software developers, they concede and support the regulation of centralized custodians. As the DOJ and regulators crack down on illicit finance and "fake DeFi," capital and legitimacy will flow to the entities that fit the "trusted person" regulatory mold. Coinbase is explicitly named as the entity that fits this "fair bargain." Long COIN as the beneficiary of regulatory moats around "trusted" custody. Excessive compliance costs or failure of the "market structure bill" to pass, leaving the industry in limbo.