Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher said he doesn’t think cryptocurrency should have a new regulator, calling the notion “one of the stupidest ideas [he’s] heard in a long time,” MarketWatch reported.
He said so during a panel discussion at the Financial Markets Quality Conference at Georgetown University Wednesday (Nov. 17), according to the report.
Gallagher said his reference point is the Dodd-Frank financial reform, which he said proved more regulatory roles would likely not help, the report stated.
“Dodd Frank set out to limit the number of agencies and provide clear jurisdiction, so they got rid of one agency and added three,” he said, per the report. “So, we ended up net two plus after Dodd Frank, and with even more confusion about jurisdiction. So, the idea of adding a new regulator is just plain silly.”
Regulation of digital assets has been a hot-button topic, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said it makes sense that regulators have been harsh on the market because of its high levels of hype.
Read more: SEC’s Gensler Urges Cryptos to Work With Regulators for ‘Market Integrity’
Gensler said crypto investors are lacking in the protections they would get from stocks and bonds. He said there are many investors reaching for yield, but the platforms haven’t come into an investor protection framework yet.
Robinhood’s third quarter earnings showed growth despite regulatory delays that have held back more cryptocurrency coins for its crypto wallets.
See more: Robinhood Funded Accounts Now At 22.4M
Robinhood added 660,000 new funded accounts during the quarter, which brought its total to 22.4 million funded accounts — a 97% increase compared to the same quarter in 2020.
CEO Vlad Tenev said the company has seen much new interest in crypto, particularly in Dogecoin. That has led to huge amounts of new customers joining.
Historically, Tenev said, the growth comes in waves, and surges come when there’s more volatility or market events. New customers also join when there are new products or features added.
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