The global head of banking and payments at Kraken, Kaushik Sthankiya, and the president of CoinW exchange, Sonia Shaw, discussed the state of cryptocurrency exchanges at the Money20/20 event in Amsterdam. The FTX collapse in 2022 caused a significant loss of trust in crypto exchanges.
Shaw noted that the industry is still recovering and working to rebuild consumer confidence through regulatory support. She mentioned that while progress is being made, the market hasn’t yet returned to its 2021 peak. CoinW is expanding to the Middle East, navigating various regulations.
Sthankiya emphasized that Kraken focuses on growing its product suite and ensuring regulatory compliance. He highlighted Kraken’s customer service, liquidity, and compliance as key strengths. He also noted that the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. had a “phenomenally positive” impact on crypto trading.
Both experts are optimistic about the crypto ecosystem’s future. Sthankiya believes centralized exchanges will lead crypto adoption, while Shaw expects the trend to shift from global to local due to varying regulations. This strategic focus on regulation and trust-building is crucial for long-term industry growth.
