Coinbase is gearing up to onboard the next billion customers, ensuring their safe and reliable usage of decentralized applications across millions of blockchains through a system that integrates the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and Circle USDC. Anthony Bassili, Coinbase's head of tokenization, shared insights on this initiative during his address at the TokenizeThis 2024 conference held in Miami.
Bassili outlined that Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 base blockchain will offer identity proofing via Ethereum Proof Services and Coinbase, streamlining know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) verification processes. This involves attaching a tag on the user's smart wallet, facilitating Coinbase verification once customers complete the KYC process. Although this may not suffice for all scenarios, Bassili indicated a potential shift towards a KYC trust model in the future, simplifying KYC procedures and shaping market structures accordingly.
To grant Web3 access to users with verified identities and wallets, Coinbase plans to capitalize on the interoperability of the EVM network, with the ecosystem being bolstered by USDC. Notably, Coinbase acquired a stake in Circle in August, with Bassili highlighting the substantial assets under management at Circle, exceeding $28 billion. Additionally, Coinbase possesses the capability to mint USDC tokens, setting the stage for seamless asset-to-asset trading without the need for intermediate conversions to fiat currencies.
Despite the vision for robust tokenized assets spanning various classes, Bassili acknowledges that achieving this goal requires the emergence of regulatory frameworks and the integration of identity checks directly into product designs. Moreover, establishing market structures remains a crucial aspect that needs attention. Bassili emphasized the potential of cryptocurrencies to embody an open market structure with free liquidity, facilitating asset ownership, trading diversity, and the circumvention of USD pairs, while USDC serves as an initial step towards advancing this market structure.
