Coinbase’s CEO says EU is making profits on fines from over-regulation
The post Coinbase’s CEO says EU is making profits on fines from over-regulation appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has accused the European Union of undermining the region’s technology, crypto, and artificial intelligence economy through fines imposed on US tech firms. Armstrong gave his sentiments on X early Tuesday morning, responding to claims that the bloc now earns more from regulatory actions than from corporate taxes paid by public European tech firms. “At some point, with enough regulation producing fines, it borders on looting. You can have more fines from over-regulation, or you can have a growing economy, but you can’t have both,” the Coinbase CEO wrote. His X post quoted the founder of Agentic web platform Godmode AI, David Fant, who said the EU makes more from fines on US tech than taxes from tech companies. Fant mentioned that the bloc imposed €3.8 billion ($4.4 billion) in fines on American companies in 2024 while public European internet firms contributed just €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) in corporate taxes. EU makes more from fines on US tech, than tax from ALL of public European tech in 2024 EU fined US tech companies €3.8B meanwhile public internet tech companies paid only €3.2B in income tax https://t.co/U5YiH2Hvsa pic.twitter.com/WS16XX66Ll — david fant (@da_fant) December 8, 2025 The penalties included €400 million under the bloc’s data protection laws, and €3.4 billion under antitrust, Digital Markets Act, and Digital Services Act rules on tech giants Apple, Google, Meta, X, and TikTok. EU fine on X sparks criticism from Musk, US officials US business leaders are irate over how Brussels has allegedly turned its digital rulebook into a revenue engine that values fines over taxes. The EU’s framework includes the General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act, and the AI Act, all of which affect how firms handle data. Opponents say the expansion of regulations and the…
2025/12/09