George Tucker Unveils Crypto.com’s Strategic Roadmap, New Services, and Regulatory Expansion Initiatives for Global Adoption
In Brief
With his extensive experience and insights, Tucker sheds light on the nuances of the industry and Crypto.com‘s strategic vision for innovation and growth.
As the Paris Blockchain Week has just started, Metaverse Post had a discussion with George Tucker, UK General Manager of Crypto.com, who shared his perspectives on the intricacies of the cryptocurrency landscape.
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading, investing, staking, wallets, NFTs, and more.
A diverse array of topics were covered, including the rise of crypto debit cards, the potential of cryptocurrency as a store of value, and the impact of regulatory frameworks on market dynamics. He also provided invaluable insights into Crypto.com’s strategic direction and its commitment to innovation and user empowerment.
Everyone has probably already seen the commercial for crypto debit cards. Can you tell us more about them?
Crypto.com cards are top-up cards, so you can top them up from a debit card, from a credit card, or from your cryptocurrency account on your app. So, they are distinct in that they’re not the same as a debit card.
I think the debit card program of Crypto.com is about enabling people to utilise their cryptocurrency investments in the financial ecosystem. We’re giving people the ability to actually spend their crypto holdings, because otherwise, without this mechanism you are restricted really to trading or holding your cryptocurrency. It helps customers interact with the broader financial ecosystem, and of course, they are accepted anywhere that Visa is accepted.
How are they different from bank debit cards?
They are similar to debit cards, but they’re not the same as debit cards, because they’re not linked to your bank account. It’s just an additional economical option for customers.
Do you think that cryptocurrency can become modern “gold” in terms of being a store of wealth and not being used for immediate trade?
I think it’s important to understand that the word cryptocurrency doesn’t necessarily capture the distinctions between different tokens. There are differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum or Solana or some of the native tokens. So not all tokens are going to be a store of value.
I think Bitcoin is put forward as a potential store of value and or “digital gold”. And there’s obviously significant interest in it. What cryptocurrency tokens really do is bring a new dimension to the financial ecosystem that otherwise exists within centralised systems subject to centralised control. And of course, decentralised finance helps us break away from that and brings a new era to the way financial services will work.
Is there anything that you want to improve on the platform or add new features and services?
Yeah, obviously, we don’t want to sit still and we always want to improve. You will see that we continue to receive new licences and new registrations under new regulators.
We’re continuing to expand our licensed footprint. And with each new licence and new jurisdiction comes new opportunities for service provision that we can’t do the same thing in all markets. Some markets allow us to do certain things, but other markets are different. So with these new markets, we can innovate, add to the platform we’re always building, and try to improve.
With all the regulatory limitations, how do you operate in the US?
In the US we’ve got nearly 50 money transfer licences, which allows us to operate across all states. We are regulated by the CFTC for some of our products that require CFTC oversight.
Is it different from the European requirements?
There are different requirements and regulatory frameworks at the moment. Europe has relatively well-developed domestic regulatory frameworks. We’ve got MiCA coming down the track, obviously, in January next year to be fully implemented. That will bring a degree of harmonisation across Europe. And I guess from that perspective, it will make it more straightforward for exchanges to operate in Europe.
So the markets are developing their regulatory framework. They are different, they are distinct.
As a company, we spend a lot of time and invest a lot of resources in engaging with regulators to make sure that we are compliant with the regimes, but they all differ.
Could you pay attention to the significance of the collapse of FTX and the adjustments made by regulators worldwide?
I can’t comment on the specifics around FTX, but I think the collapse of FTX had a significant impact on markets, and regulators have taken a close look at it. I think it led to a greater degree of scrutiny from regulators on ensuring that their frameworks are being set up to provide the consumer protections that need to be there to give consumers confidence that those sorts of incidents won’t happen again.
If you look at the collapse itself, and the reasons behind it, obviously, it is discrete and distinct to the company and that entity. But it’s all part of the regulatory maturing of the industry that we’re going through at the moment. We are a very different industry from what we were six, or seven years ago, and we continue to improve.
What do you think is influencing the current Bitcoin price?
Historically, if you look back over the last three iterations of halving, it has had a significant impact on Bitcoin’s price. And we’re seeing a lot of activity. We are firmly out of the bear market as well now and into a bull cycle. There is a lot of activity and increased activity on the exchange. There’s a lot of momentum and anticipation for what may happen later this year post-halving.
Improving macroeconomic conditions will also contribute to this trajectory. So reducing inflation and the prospect of interest rate cuts will have an impact as well.
For you, are events like Paris Blockchain Week more about attracting stakeholders or just networking opportunities?
I think it’s an important opportunity for us to be involved in the dialogue. Our president was speaking yesterday. We’ve had a number of meetings on the side where we’ve interacted both with partners and with industry bodies.
It’s not just about networking. I think it’s about having those face-to-face interactions with people who are operating in different parts of the industry, but all contribute to the overall trajectory. So if we’re talking about the industry associations, they have a very specific perspective on the sector that is different from us as an exchange.
You have a strategic partnership with Formula 1. What does it bring to you, and what do you bring to them?
You have a strategic partnership with Formula 1. What does it bring to you, and what do you bring to them?
So we’ve got a number of strategic partnerships, as you will have seen and Formula One is one of them. When we were thinking about our marketing program, we wanted to hit an international audience. And it needed to be big, so Formula One gave us that platform. What’s interesting is that over the years, the remarkable impact we’ve had from that association has led to us deepening our relationship. So we became a partner, the first partner of the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
Outside of the, or as part of the overall partnership we have with them, we’re specifically sponsoring the Miami Grand Prix as well. When we have these partnerships, it’s not just about having a brand presence, but it’s about interacting with the partner and developing engagement activations for the fan base so that we can really interact with the consumer.
They benefit us from the association we get and the exposure we get worldwide. Formula One is growing rapidly, and it is always looking for new ways to engage its fan base. It’s important to us that we get to have that dialogue, work with them, innovate on-site, and do things beyond just the brand activation of track-site sponsorship.
Why do you think sports is an industry which can stimulate the attraction to your platform?
These are major platforms that have a broad demographic of fan base. That’s important because crypto appeals to a wide audience. And these sporting platforms give us the ability to attract them. So yeah, sports are necessary because of the broad base that they allow us to reach. And it cuts across borders as well.
What other sports partnerships do you have?
We obviously have Formula One, UFC, and the Crypto.com Arena in the US, which we announced a couple of years ago. You may also have seen in Australia that we’ve done some stuff with the Adelaide Crows, where we have just launched the first in-stadium payment platform. So you can pay with crypto at the point of sale at the Adelaide Oval. We’ll be running this in partnership with them for the next six months.
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About The Author
Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
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Victoria is a writer on a variety of technology topics including Web3.0, AI and cryptocurrencies. Her extensive experience allows her to write insightful articles for the wider audience.
