Copper’s Barber: Traditional Financial Players Want to See Regulation in Crypto

Traditional financial players are very accustomed to following strict regulatory guidelines and digital assets pose a challenge, according to Copper’s Barber.

article-image

Glenn Barber, Copper.co, (center) at DAS NYC 2021; Photo by Mike Lawrence

share

key takeaways

  • Glenn Barber recently joined Copper from the traditional financial space
  • Traditional players that are looking to get involved in crypto will probably feel more comfortable with more defined regulations, he said

Glenn Barber, head of sales in the Americas at Copper, sat down with Blockworks during the New York Digital Assets Summit to discuss the state of the cryptocurrency industry and how companies are staying ahead. 

“I’ve found that things move really quickly,” Barber said, speaking about changes in the space. 

“Firms that want to be successful in crypto really do have to say ‘okay, what does the market cycle look like, how are we going to deliver that,’ and that is a big responsibility.” 

Barber started his role in August 2021 after a career in traditional finance. Cryptocurrencies can be intimidating for investors and institutions that are accustomed to strict regulations and protocols. 

“One of the evolving themes of traditional financial players getting into the space is the question of how to maintain fiduciary responsibility,” he said. “I think people from this space not take for granted, but are just so used to the embedded layers of investor protection that the various regulatory regimes over decades have put into place.” 

Newcomers into space are concerned about security and serving clients the best they can and regulatory measures will hopefully help traditional financial players feel more comfortable entering the digital asset space, Barber said. 

Watch the full interview below and all of the panel videos from DAS here


Are you a UK or EU reader that can’t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets? Join us in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket. Buy it now.


Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template Presentation.jpg

Research

The Solana validator landscape has changed drastically over the past year. The chain now has 1,332 active validators with 380.9 million SOL staked (63.9% of supply) as of February 2025. Validator revenue had diversified beyond inflationary rewards (still making up 55%) to include Jito tips (30%), priority fees (24%), and base fees (<1%), in January, especially with the increased activity on Solana. Since then, issuance has become dominant again (76%), while Jito tips (14%), priority fees (9%), and base fees (less than 1%) have reduced in share of February 2025. There has been a strong shift towards non-inflationary revenue sources, which have become more central to validator economics as priority fees and off-chain blockspace auctions gain traction. Client diversity has also improved drastically, with implementations such as Agave, Jito-Solana, and Frankendancer already in use, and upcoming clients like Firedancer and Sig expected to further strengthen resilience and reduce reliance on a single codebase.

article-image

BWR analyst Carlos Gonzalez Campo explains the consequences of SOL inflation and transfers lost to “leaky buckets”

article-image

Empire co-host Santiago Santos makes the case that memecoins have actually helped push infra forward…just not in the way you think

article-image

A16z Crypto lists seven buckets for tokens and recommendations for how to regulate them, in a filing submitted to the SEC

article-image

New model aims to resolve trading inefficiencies with a single execution layer and market maker changes

article-image

Investors navigating BTC face short-term unpredictability, influence from other markets

article-image

The GENIUS Act aims to establish regulatory guidelines for stablecoins