Anthony Yeung is the Chief Commercial Officer at CoinCover, a company focused on making digital assets safer for all to use.
With a background in fintech and traditional payments, Anthony entered the crypto space via Elliptic and later CoinCover.
He did not enter because of speculation or hype, but because he saw an opportunity to help build the infrastructure behind money movement.
Yeung came from a world of AML, fraud prevention, and secure financial rails, and his entry into digital assets was driven by a desire to apply that mindset to the fast-moving world of crypto.
Initially skeptical, Anthony’s curiosity grew as he saw the potential firsthand.
In this interview, he discusses regulation, safety, decentralization, and the road to onboarding the next billion users in the industry.
Making crypto accessible starts with trust and experience
Invezz: So your gateway into crypto came from the fintech side. What do you think is the number one factor that increases accessibility for retail investors?
Anthony: Great question. If you put yourself in the shoes of a user, the concept of regulation to them is what they’re used to from the traditional finance world.
What will help drive that adoption is first and foremost the user experience – and that includes everything from ease of use through to perceptions of safety and security.
Often onboarding is complex. KYC, long sign-up flows, even cooling-off periods.
That all needs improvement. Regulation is important to direct platforms to put consumer protections in place, but as a user you’re probably not conscious of the specifics of regulation.
What you care about is what you feel right at the end of it.
At the end of the day, that feeling is one of trust, and trust comes from understanding that your platform is putting the right protections in place to keep you safe, even if you can’t state what those protections actually are.
Invezz: CoinCover’s Trust Factor report mentioned that 67% of retail users said they’d invest more if crypto was regulated like traditional finance. Given your background, do you think crypto should follow the same regulatory model?
Anthony: I think that’s one of the biggest myths. When policy makers just think they can plunk in how you’ve done things historically into digital assets. It just doesn’t translate over.
I think it provides a good foundation into how we think about regulation, but we need bespoke rules, tailored to how people use and interact with crypto.
Invezz: So when it comes to user safety, is it more about regulation or user education?
Anthony: I think you need the regulatory oversight to be able to make sure that platforms are operating in the right way, using the right frameworks, and ultimately doing the right thing to protect users.
What you don’t want to happen is for these platforms to only care about making money and forget about users. For me, that’s really important. From the user’s perspective, they care about if their money is being looked after.
They want investor protection. But safety also means users knowing how to protect themselves.
Real-time threat monitoring, proof of reserves, insurance, proper governance; all of that matters.
But regulators must also keep updating their frameworks based on how fast the industry is evolving.
Invezz: Could too much regulation threaten the decentralized nature of crypto?
Anthony: That’s the balance we need to strike. The system is evolving, just like the shift from cash to digital payments.
A lot of people are still trying to be cash based, but the reality is that the system is evolving where technology requires people to be more digital.
Full decentralization may not be viable if you want the next billion users to come onboard.
Most users already go through some form of KYC. Only a small minority avoid that completely.
If we want mass adoption, we need to meet people where they are, with simple onboarding, social logins, and familiar tools from the “Web 2.0” world.
Invezz: Where do you draw the line between platform responsibility and user responsibility?
Anthony: Platforms can’t take on 100% of the liability, or they’ll make the experience overly restrictive. But you can’t push all the responsibility onto users either.
Don’t forget that they’re still early in their learning journey. There needs to be shared accountability. Regulators need to guide both sides.
Asking a casual user 15 questions about staking and crypto mechanics before allowing a transaction — like some UK platforms do — goes too far.
But users still need to understand basic safety practices, like how not to expose wallet keys or credentials.
Invezz: What do you think is the most important factor to improve adoption from a retail user perspective?
Anthony: I don’t think it’s just one thing. User education is absolutely critical here. Financial protection mechanisms, like those we see in the Web2 space, are important too.
I believe we need to think about that as an industry.
It’s more complex because in a Web 2.0 space you have the likes of Visa and Mastercard that govern the disputes process there, but you don’t know how to implement that in the digital asset space without compromising decentralization.
And above all, user experience must improve.
Today, people are still asked to manage seed phrases and 24-word backups. That’s intimidating.
We need more intuitive solutions, like social logins, that hide the complexity behind the scenes. I think the whole experience is still quite daunting for most people.
Invezz: As we push for more adoption, do you think we risk more bad actors entering the space? Could failures like FTX be healthy for the industry in the long term by providing a feedback loop towards improvement and responsibility?
Anthony: It’s not healthy. But the reality is the entire financial system that we know today was also built on the same processes. The traditional financial system went through the same thing.
Look at Lehman Brothers or the early days of card fraud that drove the right protocols to secure and protect users.
So for me the reality is we are on this journey where we’re going to learn as we go along.
The reality is there is probably going to be another big incident, but it’s through those learnings that will help us to continue building the industry. We don’t know what we don’t know.
When Bybit recovered from its hack within days, that was a sign that protocols are improving. They had plans in place, likely because they’d learned from previous events like FTX.
Invezz: Speaking of FTX, what’s your view on proof of reserves? Is it a reliable trust mechanism or just a piece of the puzzle?
Anthony: It’s only one piece of the puzzle. Proof of reserves provides some transparency, but without real-time monitoring, third-party verification, and operational audits, it’s just window dressing.
You have to remember people want both their funds and personal data to be protected. What we need is a layered defence mechanism around governance, insurance, user education, and ongoing oversight.
How regulation can evolve without killing crypto’s core
Invezz: What’s your opinion on the Genius Act and Clarity Act in the US? Are they real steps forward?
Anthony: They’re a significant step, but not the final one. They provide a framework that opens the door for institutions by addressing concerns like counterparty risk.
But there’s still a lot of areas that need more clarity. But it’s a framework for regulators to start building from.
What matters is what rules the regulators actually come out with, and how quickly they come out with these rules.
Unless regulators follow through quickly with clear rules, they risk falling behind. The space evolves so fast that a rule fit for purpose today could be outdated next year. Digital assets move faster than traditional finance.
Invezz: Good point. There’s definitely some momentum coming out of the US with the new administration. Who do you think is currently leading in crypto regulation globally?
Anthony: I do think Europe, through MiCA, is setting a strong precedent, especially around stablecoins and licensing. Other regions are looking to it as a model.
The UK is moving, but slowly. Perhaps due to being more risk averse.
The US has potential, especially with a more crypto-friendly administration and momentum around the Genius Act. But again, it’s about how fast regulators actually execute.
Invezz: Are there any myths policymakers still believe that need to be debunked?
Anthony: One big myth is that crypto can be regulated exactly like traditional finance. It just doesn’t work. For example, the cooling-off period in the UK delays trades by 24–48 hours, which is fine for stocks.
But in crypto, that delay can mean missed opportunities. The space moves too fast.
Invezz: What’s your prediction for the next big catalyst for mass adoption?
Anthony: Again, I think it’s user experience. Making it easy to sign up, use wallets, and protect assets. Those are huge. Familiar tools like social logins can make a big difference.
But also, we need financial protection mechanisms that work without undermining decentralization.
How can platforms safeguard users and help shape regulation?
Invezz: How is CoinCover helping to solve these challenges?
Anthony: We do it in two main ways. First, we help users, both retail and institutional, avoid the “I’ve lost my wallet” moment. That means we’re providing the technology to make sure that you will always have access to your wallet.
Second, we protect transactions. If you’re sending crypto to James and it turns out it was a scam, we help ensure that process is reversed or protected.
We aim to be that safety net. If something goes wrong, we’re there to make it right. That’s what brings users back to the ecosystem.
Invezz: Is there more that companies like CoinCover can do to support regulators?
Anthony: Absolutely. We actively speak with regulators because they rely on the industry to inform them. Vendors, platforms, everyone needs to share insights.
We see issues before regulators do, so it’s our job to let them know what’s coming. But regulators also need to engage and listen. They can’t operate in a vacuum.
Invezz: Finally, what advice would you give to someone curious about entering crypto?
Anthony: Treat it like any other investment. Don’t put in more than you can afford to lose.
The space is still early. Security and protections aren’t as robust as in traditional finance. If you’re prepared for the risks, then it’s worth exploring.
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