TLDR
- Coinbase says it is not worried about growing competition from Wall Street firms entering the crypto market.
- Coinbase head of European policy Katie Harries says the crypto industry’s key strength is its community, something she believes banks cannot replicate.
- Stand With Crypto, backed by Coinbase, held events in over 500 locations worldwide on Bitcoin Pizza Day, May 23.
- The advocacy group claims 3.7 million members who have contacted lawmakers more than 2.5 million times.
- Coinbase reported a loss of $1.49 per share in Q1 2026 and announced a 14% workforce reduction earlier in May.
Coinbase says it is not threatened by banks and traditional financial institutions moving deeper into the cryptocurrency space. Despite posting a quarterly loss and cutting jobs, the exchange is doubling down on the idea that crypto’s community is its biggest competitive advantage.
⚡️COINBASE SAYS IT DOESN’T FEAR WALL STREET
A Coinbase $COIN executive says the exchange welcomes competition, but regulators need to deliver sensible crypto rules first. pic.twitter.com/xNM8cYikxq
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 24, 2026
Katie Harries, Coinbase’s head of Policy for Europe, made the comments in an interview published May 24. She told CoinDesk the company is “not at all” worried about Wall Street’s growing involvement in digital assets. “A rising tide lifts all ships,” she said.
Community Over Competition
Harries said millions of people chose crypto because they believe in what it stands for: open, decentralized, peer-to-peer finance. She argued that no bank or traditional institution can replicate that kind of organic community support.
Those comments came against a difficult financial backdrop for Coinbase. The company posted a first-quarter loss of $1.49 per share, compared to analyst expectations of a $0.27 profit. It also announced plans to cut roughly 14% of its workforce in early May 2026.
The exchange used Bitcoin Pizza Day on May 23 to showcase its political advocacy arm, Stand With Crypto. The global event, which commemorates the first real-world Bitcoin transaction in 2010, saw events held in over 500 locations across four continents.
Stand With Crypto describes itself as the world’s largest crypto advocacy group. It claims 3.7 million members across six markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the European Union. Those members have reportedly contacted lawmakers more than 2.5 million times.
Harries said the scale of participation proves that crypto voters are a permanent fixture in politics, not just in the US but globally.
Crypto Voters and the Push for Regulation
Harries pushed back on suggestions that US voters do not care about crypto. She cited Stand With Crypto’s numbers as evidence that lawmakers should be paying attention.
A CoinDesk survey of 1,000 US voters did find that only 1% ranked crypto as their top concern heading into the November midterm elections.
Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad also spoke during the event. He said Friday’s rally “proves that the crypto voter is a global phenomenon” and called getting crypto regulation right “one of the most critical policy challenges of our generation.”
Harries added that the window to shape sensible crypto regulation is open and that policymakers who have been slow to engage with the crypto community “should take note.”
Market structure legislation is currently advancing through the US Congress, which Coinbase highlighted as a critical moment for the industry.
Bitcoin Pizza Day marks the 16th anniversary of Laszlo Hanyecz’s purchase of two pizzas for 10,000 BTC in 2010. At current prices, that Bitcoin would be worth over $770 million.
Coinbase’s most recent public position, as of late May 2026, remains that institutional entry into crypto expands the market for everyone rather than threatening existing players.
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