Christopher Perkins, president of Web3 investment firm CoinFund, has come out strongly against the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) latest stance on cryptocurrency, calling its proposed containment approach “completely uninformed and frankly, dangerous.”
The BIS recently published a paper titled “Cryptocurrencies and Decentralised Finance: Functions and Financial Stability Implications”, acknowledging the rapid growth of crypto innovations like ETFs, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets. However, Perkins took issue with the BIS’s containment strategy, likening it to outdated Cold War-era thinking.
“Guys, crypto is not communism. It’s the new internet that provides anyone with access to financial services,” Perkins said. “You cannot control it any more than you control the internet.”
Drawing on his experience during the 2008 financial crisis as a trader at Lehman Brothers, Perkins warned that isolating crypto from traditional financial systems could generate severe liquidity risks. He explained that forcing a divide between the always-on crypto markets and the limited-hours legacy banking systems could “lead to the next systemic crisis.”
Calls for Integration, Not Isolation
Rather than pursuing containment, Perkins urged policymakers to modernize the existing financial infrastructure to embrace blockchain technology. He believes regulations should evolve to support the integration of crypto into global finance, stating:
“Capital rules should not ‘contain’ public blockchains they should encourage them!”
Perkins also criticized the BIS’s concerns over decentralized finance (DeFi), particularly its focus on anonymous developers. He pointed out that most traditional financial institutions don’t disclose their development teams either, questioning the fairness of such scrutiny.
Stablecoins and Financial Inclusion
Another point of contention was the BIS’s warning that stablecoins could pose macroeconomic risks in unstable nations such as Zimbabwe and Venezuela. Perkins countered this by highlighting the real-world benefits of access to USD-backed stablecoins in regions suffering from monetary instability.
“If there is demand for USD stablecoins and it helps improve the condition of anyone in the developing world, perhaps that is a good thing?!” he noted on X (formerly Twitter), adding that financial inclusion should be prioritized globally.
A Broader Debate on the Future of Finance
Perkins’ critique joins a growing chorus of voices calling for regulatory clarity that enables rather than stifles innovation. As the crypto industry continues to evolve, tensions between legacy financial institutions and decentralized technology innovators remain at the heart of policy discussions.
Whether the BIS will revisit its containment recommendations remains to be seen, but voices like Perkins’ are pushing the conversation toward a more integrated and future-facing financial system.
