TechFlow News — On October 6, according to Decrypt, Shan Aggarwal, Coinbase’s Vice President of Corporate and Business Development, revealed during an interview at the Messari Mainnet conference that the company has seen a significant shift over the past six to nine months in discussions with major financial institutions. With cryptocurrency gaining increasing bipartisan attention in the U.S., traditional financial firms are showing growing interest in entering the Web3 space. Aggarwal said these conversations could bring more traditional finance players into Web3 and drive mass adoption of digital assets.
He emphasized that the biggest current pain point remains the "hassle" of onboarding, which hinders the next wave of users from joining blockchain networks. However, if traditional financial institutions enter the crypto space and help mainstream users navigate the complexities of cryptocurrency technology, it could pave the way for broad digital currency adoption. "Having a broader set of banking partners collaborating with crypto companies to simplify how money enters the ecosystem... could reduce the biggest friction preventing users from actually using on-chain applications," Aggarwal said.
On the political front, in May this year, more than 70 Democratic members of Congress joined in bipartisan support for the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21), a bill aiming to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets in the U.S. Earlier this year, 12 Democratic U.S. Senators joined their Republican counterparts in passing a resolution to overturn an SEC policy that hindered banks from offering crypto-related services. Additionally, Fairshake, a pro-digital asset political action committee, has raised over $200 million in this election cycle—more than any other special interest group. Coinbase is one of Fairshake’s primary supporters, and the super PAC has recently distributed its support nearly evenly between both parties in the House and Senate.
