Coinbase CEO says EU is profiting from fines tied to over-regulation

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. 

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 trading bloc’s stringent enforcement have created a climate of fear among technology firms operating in its jurisdiction. The latest confrontation came on the heels of a fine on Elon Musk’s X of about €120 million for a supposed “deceptive” blue checkmark system and failures in its advertising transparency, Cryptopolitan reported. 

Musk, who had dismissed the Commission’s announcement with a blunt expletive in an earlier post, responded to the fine on Saturday, saying: “The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people.” 

Nikita Bier, the platform’s head of product, mocked EU officials in a sarcastic message that read: “Hello, I am Jürgen from Bruxelles. I have a masters in social business welfare studies. I demand 10% of your global revenue for violation of cookie popups.” 

Several American policymakers also joined Musk’s camp to publicly condemn Brussels, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called the penalty against X an “attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.” 

The US ambassador to the EU, Andrew Puzder, said the “excessive €120M fine” was a clear sign of regulatory overreach to stifle American innovation, adding that Washington expects “fair, open, reciprocal trade and nothing less.”

Puzder doubled down on his talking point in an interview with Bloomberg, saying the largest penalties issued under Europe’s digital rulebook have been on US platforms. 

“So at some point, if you’re an American company, you’ve gotta sit back and say, ‘Look, am I being targeted here?’” he continued, “Or is this an effort to try and advantage European competitors over US companies?”

Vice President JD Vance went further in his sentiments to propound that the EU was cracking down on X because it would not engage in censorship. 

“Rumors are swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship,” he said on X. Musk replied, “Much appreciated,” thanking Vance for his support.

EU Lawmakers defend legislations and fines

While the criticism from the United States continues, European officials have defended the bloc’s strategy and insisted that strict regulation is necessary and justified. Bas Eickhout, co-chair of the Greens in the European Parliament, told POLITICO the Commission must enforce digital laws “with an iron fist” regardless of how loudly US officials protest. 

“They should just implement the law, which means they need to be tougher,” Eickhout said. He added that the EU should feel confident about its regulatory leadership, saying the bloc is “the only one fighting American Big Tech.” 

The Commission’s ruling is the first formal noncompliance decision issued under the Digital Services Act, a law that took effect shortly after Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.

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