Over the past few years, cryptocurrencies have seen a surge in popularity worldwide. The growth of digitized payment methods has transformed markets around the world.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume, is a product of that rapid growth.

Mobile-based podcast Beyond the Blockchain recently hosted Ashley Gan, the company's senior manager of U.S. policy, to discuss the crypto economy and the company's future.

Podcast host Scott Tindle asked Gunn if there was anything happening in Alabama that the company was particularly interested in.

“First off, I want to say that Alabama is a great state for us,” Gunn responded. “We have a really large cryptocurrency user base in Alabama. In fact, data was released showing that 18% of Alabama adults own or trade cryptocurrency, which is higher than we would have expected, to be honest.”

“This isn't just about Coinbase, this is about the entire crypto economy. It's 18% of the population, so that's great.”

Gunn believes cryptocurrency is a bipartisan issue in Alabama.

“The survey found that 38 percent of that group are Democrats, 38 percent are Republicans, and 20 percent are independents.”

“I think some people see cryptocurrency as being on one side or the other politically.”

Tindle then steered the conversation towards regulation and potential over-regulation in the cryptocurrency industry.

“When you talk to people individually, cryptocurrency is on people's radar across the political spectrum,” Tindle said. “So there's going to be a line between what's acceptable and what's excessive regulation. This is going to be a great conversation, and an important conversation, over the next few years.”

“We talk about AI on this show. We talk about machine learning. We talk about a variety of different things that need some regulation, but cryptocurrency and blockchain are more developed,” Tindle noted.

“It's more sophisticated and mature than the other two, so that's probably where regulation will happen first, and then it'll be a question of what's the most appropriate version.”

Tindle asked Gunn to clarify Coinbase's position on regulation.

Gunn responded that the company was “very much in favor of regulation.”

“We've been advocating for regulation for a long time, and again, I think this goes back to what I said earlier, we're concerned about our own enforcement risk. It's no secret that Coinbase is currently being sued by the SEC.”

“Having greater clarity about what the regulations will look like can eliminate some of the enforcement risk,” Gunn said.

She also said potential SEC fines could disproportionately affect small and medium-sized businesses.

“But we're also concerned about smaller players and enforcement risk. Smaller players could be forced out of business if they get fined by the SEC.”

“I think our mission is to find the right, customized regulatory environment that allows these companies to innovate, but of course doesn't fall into the trap of over-regulation that you're talking about.”

Tindle said regulation is necessary to attract more people to cryptocurrencies.

“Something we talk about a lot on the show is that there needs to be some balance. People feel more comfortable if there is some regulation, and for the industry to continue to develop, we need to include people who are not natives of crypto and blockchain.”

He then touched on exchange traded funds and their role in cryptocurrencies.

“I think ETFs are helping with that because people are now able to invest and increase their exposure to bitcoin through these ETFs. People are using their 401Ks and financial advisors and that is starting to make a difference.”

“Do you think we'll see more of this in the future as ETFs are developed and more exposure is monetized through financial advisors? Or do you know of anything like that?”

Gunn elaborated on the development and role of ETFs in the cryptocurrency world.

“Coinbase's ultimate mission is thanks to our CEO, Brian Armstrong, who had a vision to bring financial freedom to the world,” Gunn said.

“If that's done through an ETF, that's great. We've seen a lot more adoption through ETFs. I think there's a lot of buzz around the ETF thesis. I think Coinbase's position is going to continue to be all we can do to drive the crypto economy and provide financial freedom to the world.”

“That will continue to be a priority.

Tindle then asked about any disruptions Coinbase may be experiencing.

Gunn pointed to one big hurdle in particular.

“Regulations,” she said, “tend to be one of our biggest obstacles.”

“The SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission said they were taking legal action against Coinbase, but at the same time Coinbase also took legal action.”

Gunn also said about a dozen states have lawsuits pending against the company.

“We also found out that 10 states have individually taken legal action against us, one of which, unfortunately, is Alabama. This has all been made public.”

She made it clear that Coinbase is not susceptible to any lawsuits.

“From our perspective, we will not hesitate to take any legal action as long as we still believe in the mission that we are on, and we believe that everything we are doing today is part of providing economic freedom to the world.”

“I think that will continue to be part of the challenge we face.”

Gan hopes that Coinbase's lawyers will help provide transparency to the company's clients regarding the lawsuit.

“I'm not involved in any of these lawsuits, that's entirely the responsibility of our litigation team and outside counsel, but this is something we'll be following and we hope that we can get some clarity for Coinbase and for our users.”

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Austin Shipley is a staff writer for Yellow Hammer News.