EXCLUSIVE — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking aim at both legacy financial institutions and Washington gridlock, warning that the U.S. is wasting time on a technology that could significantly lower costs for working-class families.
Speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital about his new role as co-chair of a joint venture between fintech company OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Cuomo detailed how a shift toward blockchain technology could help reduce costs for consumers by limiting reliance on traditional banking intermediaries.
"This provides basic financial services, you have an account, you can pay bills, you can transfer money. And you don't have to deal with the traditional banking establishment, minimum requirements," Cuomo told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. "There are benefits across the board."
"This is something that has been percolating for a long time, gestating, working through the tension that was first present between these companies and the traditional finance companies. We've now come to a general recognition that it has to be collaboration rather than competition," he continued.
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Cuomo argues that crypto is the latest chapter in America’s financial evolution. Much like the 1929 stock market crash helped lead to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Enron scandal prompted corporate reforms, crypto's early days are forcing a shift toward greater oversight. As co-chair of OKX and Intercontinental Exchange's (ICE) efforts to build regulated digital markets, Cuomo said his goal is to merge Wall Street’s compliance framework with crypto's 24/7 technology capabilities to tokenize mainstream equities and futures.
"When it first started, it was, 'crypto was controversial,’" Cuomo pointed out, "but it was never about crypto. It was about the blockchain technology. And I think that's what people missed for a lot of years. They got caught up in crypto and didn't understand the potential of the blockchain."
"The SEC, obviously, is going to have to change with the times, but the blockchain will be so much more time efficient and cost-efficient. You don't need the intermediaries. Literally, you could trade directly, and it can be a 24/7 market, and it can be a global market," he added.
He also addressed the frustration of the average middle-class family that feels pocketbook pain from legacy banking institutions, ATM fees and slow transaction times. By expanding blockchain access through smartphones, he believes the technology can provide financial access to the unbanked and underserved.
"Besides the tokenized securities, in general on this platform, you have a wallet, you can deposit your currency in your wallet, you can make payments from your wallet. And… for the average consumer, that makes a tremendous amount of difference. There are virtually no transaction fees. Payment is direct, payment is fast for the average consumer," Cuomo explained. "And then there are literally billions of people globally who have no access to any financial service."
To unlock blockchain’s full potential, Cuomo is urging Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, which he says would set firm rules of the road.
"You can't claim an industry is the Wild West when there's no sheriff. That's why it's the Wild West, because there's no sheriff and there are no laws," he said. "You don't have more time. The situation is already manifested. Businesses are operating. People are transacting business. This should have been done a decade ago. You don't have the luxury of time. You have to respond, the government has to respond on a timely basis to the situation that is presented. It is happening."
Cuomo further responded to criticism made by traditional financial elites – including JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon – who claimed the Act fails to meet federal banking standards.
"Now, I think a lot of the traditional finance guys were saying, ‘Well, hold on, this can dramatically change the industry. We need to understand all the consequences for the existing industry, so let's take time because this may upend my business,’" Cuomo said, "but… you’re not putting the blockchain back in the box. It's out there. It is happening. So, yes, the evolution will create disruption in the marketplace, but that is also how you evolve. And what these companies have to get is either you evolve and thrive, or you remain stagnant and die. That's the way of the market."
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The former New York governor and attorney general emphasized how the new venture marries the stability of the NYSE with cutting-edge technology to keep America competitive on the global stage.
"What excites me most is this brings the two giants together… The New York Stock Exchange is the iconic symbol of the American finance system… it just epitomizes the evolution and now the [blockchain] collaboration and the synergy and the partnership."
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