Cameron Winklevoss on Crypto Regulation: “Free-for-Alls Don’t Work”

Known for their regulation-friendly outlook within the crypto industry, Gemini exchange founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss hold a hybrid approach to privacy and government rules. 

The twin brothers explained in a May 22 podcast interview with Peter McCormack that crypto adoption comes a need for some degree of regulation. Cameron added:

“The independence and sovereignty around crypto is unmatched with any technology before, but the onramps have to have an element of thoughtful regulation.”

Zero regulation is not the answer

Labeled as the 15th and 16th most influential people in the crypto space, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss dove into Bitcoin following their suit of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. The brothers founded the Gemini crypto exchange in 2015, which falls in line with regulations for New York-based exchanges. 

“Free-for-alls don’t work,” Cameron said of unregulated markets. “At the same time, overregulating something will absolutely stifle it,” he continued. “It doesn’t have to be an either-or, or an all-or-nothing situation.”

Crypto can have regulation without being stifled

Building on his brother’s comments, Tyler noted people can agree and disagree with regulation at the same time, depending on the angle. “You can be pro-regulation, but disagree with the state of regulation, he said. 

Regulation needs to make sense, Tyler posited. Using an example from the early music industry, Cameron pointed back to the days of buying an entire album just for sake of listening to a song or two. Napster and other music pirating options came along later, changing the paradigm forever in a way that was too far away from regulation. Apple’s iTunes met in the middle of these two worlds, offering purchases of single songs for $0.99 each.  

Gemini’s regulation serves to protect user privacy, Cameron explained. “We can’t mine your data and then go sell it,” he said. Meanwhile, other technology giants gorge themselves on customer data because no regulations forbid it.

“They’re corporate peeping Toms,” Cameron said.