While the crypto market’s brief dip after U.S. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ debate “win” against Donald Trump suggested the market favours the former president, Ziad El Baba, Ramp Network’s chief product officer, says the drop’s short-lived nature indicates users are wary of both candidates. El Baba also notes the market’s quick recovery reinforces a notion that the crypto industry’s growth is not tied to either candidate’s success.
Crypto Kingmaker in Close Contests
Addressing concerns about cryptocurrencies becoming a partisan issue, El Baba argues the industry’s decentralized and global nature ensures it remains bipartisan. While acknowledging this, El Baba says crypto-inclined voters could still impact U.S. election outcomes, particularly in closely contested races, due to their youthful demographics and crypto advocates’ social reach.
Regarding regulation, El Baba advocates for pilot programs and phased rollouts before implementing rigid regulations. He also said he supports public-private partnerships to develop industry standards and best practices aligned with regulatory goals.
Below are the Ramp Network CPO’s answers to all the questions sent.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Recent reports indicate U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have vowed to support cryptocurrency growth measures if elected. This development has sparked speculation about the expanding influence of crypto-friendly voters in U.S. elections. As a seasoned industry expert with a nationwide business, can you assess the likelihood of crypto-inclined voters shaping the election’s outcome?
Ziad El Baba (ZEB): It is definitely an exciting time for crypto in the US. The growing importance and popularity of digital assets in the world’s biggest market means it’s a strategic focus for many businesses, including Ramp Network.
The entire Web3 industry is watching closely as the US election unfolds. The broad endorsement of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is a rare alignment of the two warring parties. It clearly signals that this is an important issue for a significant segment of the electorate and that they believe crypto-inclined voters could influence the outcome of U.S. elections.
This makes sense as, according to research by Security.org, cryptocurrency awareness and ownership rates have increased to record levels in the US: 40% of American adults now own crypto, up from 30% in 2023. During the last election in 2020, ownership rates were around 8%, an impressive 400% growth since then. This research suggests that 93 million people already own cryptocurrency. Among current crypto owners, around 63% hope to obtain more cryptocurrency over the next year.” In addition, given the youthful demographics and comparative social reach of cryptocurrency advocates, they make themselves a particularly appealing voter segment. They could be particularly impactful in closely contested races, making the crypto community a force to be reckoned with in future elections.
At first glance, it seems likely that Kamala intends to support the industry through regulation to protect consumers whereas Trump takes more of a deregulation stance. However, neither has laid out any plans of substance.
Initially, the crypto market dropped following polls that suggested that Harris won the first presidential debate. This response implies that the market is more optimistic about a Trump presidency due to his more overt backing of Bitcoin. However, the way the market recovered from this dip signals that the underlying issue is uncertainty, and the growth of the crypto industry is not contingent on the success of either candidate.
Beyond the election, the Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has also signalled that he wants to pass crypto legislation before year-end. Cryptocurrency has become a US political issue, but as the industry is decentralized and global, it will remain bi-partisan, despite the efforts of either candidate.
BCN: During a recent campaign in North Carolina, Harris reportedly promised to focus on cutting needless bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape to encourage innovative technologies while protecting consumers. What would you say are the needless bureaucracy and unnecessary regulatory red tape that currently inhibit players in the U.S. cryptocurrency landscape?
ZEB: Campaigns love to talk about the reduction of needless bureaucracy, & unnecessary regulatory red tape. However, it’s hard to substantiate what that means in reality. Consumer protection is going to play a pivotal role in mainstream crypto adoption, the crucial challenge is to ensure that regulation does not come at the expense of innovation.
At Ramp Network, our focus is less on trying to fight regulation but rather on collaborating with industry players and regulators to find a middle ground where consumers are well informed of risks, and businesses can operate & compete fairly.
BCN: Your platform, Ramp Network, has recently expanded crypto purchases to all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the U.S., implying the promotion of crypto adoption across the entire country. Can you briefly explain how you achieved this, highlighting the challenges encountered? Also, what does Ramp Network’s presence across the United States mean for your customers and business partners?
ZEB: Until recently, we were only able to serve our loyal customers in 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, allowing them to buy and sell over one hundred cryptocurrencies with almost instantaneous delivery and some of the highest available limits at the click of a button.
We recently announced extended support to include over 100 million more users in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. This recent expansion to support crypto purchases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia represents a significant milestone in our mission to drive cryptocurrency adoption across the U.S.
We achieved this by focusing on regulatory compliance as a core pillar of our strategy, ensuring that our platform adheres to the highest standards of legal and financial security.
The biggest challenge we faced during this process was the time, cost, and energy required to navigate the regulatory landscape and obtain licenses across multiple states.
With our presence now established across the entire U.S., customers can enjoy effortless access to a broad range of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in all states, regardless of where they reside. They’re able to leverage the high limits across popular payment methods, including card, Apple Pay, and ACH.
For our business partners, beyond connecting them to the whole of the US population, our industry-leading on- and off-ramp products simplify the digital asset purchasing process. Our API-based tools enable decentralized application developers to embed simple crypto on-ramps and off-ramps directly into their dApps. This is why we have had such success integrating with crypto wallets such as MetaMask, Trust Wallet and Exodus.
BCN: As a product guy, could you tell our readers what role product innovation could play in the future of Ramp Network as well as the future of interoperability between the crypto economy and the global financial infrastructure?
ZEB: Product innovation will play a pivotal role in the future of Ramp Network and the broader intersection between the crypto economy and global financial infrastructure. Blockchain technology, with its ability to offer instant, low-fee settlement for transactions – particularly cross-border payments – presents tremendous potential. Cryptocurrencies and Web3 applications also provide unique benefits, such as staking rewards, play-to-earn, utility tokens, etc.
At Ramp Network, we see ourselves as a gateway between Web2 and Web3, and our mission is to drive product innovation that allows our users to more easily access these blockchain and cryptocurrency benefits. We do this by obsessively focusing on our customers. We invest significant time in understanding their habits, motivations, and pain points when accessing crypto. Whether they are crypto natives or newcomers, we strive to learn the ins and outs of their frustrations and expectations.
Our innovation is centred around solving the primary challenges that users face, including:
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- Complex onboarding and verification processes: New users often find accessing crypto overwhelming due to unfamiliar processes and security concerns.
- Speed and transaction limits: Crypto users demand fast transactions and high limits, particularly for high-value purchases or cross-border transactions.
- Trust and user experience: Many users still feel uncertain when navigating crypto, and providing a secure, familiar Web2-like experience is key to driving adoption.
- By delivering a more Web2-like experience—one with competitive pricing, seamless and informative onboarding and KYC, and fast processing times—we’re building trust and confidence for Web 3 natives but also for crypto-curious users. For example, offering a secure and familiar account system where users can manage their KYC, payment, and crypto preferences seamlessly mirrors the experiences users expect from the top Web2 platforms that they are comfortable with.
- We recently announced the launch of a market-leading document-free verification system for users in Brazil. Document-free verification allows new users to purchase crypto for the first time up to four times faster than before, with increased transactional limits and the highest level of security and compliance. The feature is targeted at the large population of crypto native users in Brazil who are looking to onboard and spend crypto on a day-to-day basis. We bridge millions of our loyal customers around the world to new web3-enabled products.
- Looking ahead, we envision introducing additional products that further drive adoption, reduce friction, and enhance user confidence. We are also developing features such as insurance to help our users feel even more comfortable with venturing into web3.We won’t stop until accessing all things Web3 becomes 1-click.
At the heart of our mission is making cryptocurrency more accessible, user-friendly, and trustworthy. By solving real customer pain points and enhancing the user experience, Ramp is not only driving success for our platform but also contributing to the broader goal of interoperability between the crypto economy and global financial infrastructure. As we continue to innovate, we’re helping users and partners take full advantage of blockchain technology’s powerful potential.
BCN: Most of the crypto industry is not completely against regulation. Their main request is for clear regulatory frameworks that do not stifle innovation. What do you think are the low-hanging fruits that the government should consider in regulating the cryptocurrency industry? In other words, what should be the government’s initial steps toward cryptocurrency regulation?
ZEB: When it comes to regulation, there are very few low-hanging fruit, as it requires immense coordination, alignment, and communication. In my opinion, the best approach to de-risk this is to use pilot programs and phased roll-outs before rolling out rigid full-scale regulations.
Regulation itself is not a bad thing, we encourage collaborative regulation as a way to grow the industry while protecting consumers and businesses. The government’s initial steps toward cryptocurrency regulation should focus on collaborative engagement with stakeholders. It is imperative that regulations are informed by those with practical experience in the field. There needs to be a mechanism to encourage public-private partnerships to develop best practices and industry standards that align with regulatory goals.
Being collaborative from the outset is more likely to engender buy-in and create a framework that is fit for purpose. More combative approaches are likely to encourage market players to relocate to more favourable markets.
Another way to prevent this is to harmonize with the standards of the other biggest markets in the world, for example, MiCA (The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) which regulates the EU. Working with international regulatory bodies ensures that the framework is consistent across borders, which is crucial for a global industry like cryptocurrency and can help to manage the issues with international transactions and prevent regulatory arbitrage.
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