Thibault Schrepel on Antitrust in Crypto

Bloomberg – ICLE Academic Affiliate Thibault Schrepel was quoted by Bloomberg in a story about the antitrust implications of the proposed Binance-FTX merger. You can read full piece (behind a subscriber firewall) here.

“I would be surprised if the companies were to obtain the green light from all jurisdictions before the end of 2023,” said Thibault Schrepel, associate professor at VU University Amsterdam and faculty affiliate at Stanford University. Schrepel said it would be likely that a number of agencies would open in-depth probes, which could result in concessions such as selling off parts of the firms.

…What’s clear is that this deal will mean global antitrust regulators will get the chance to look at a nascent market that has yet to be substantially analyzed through a competition lens. Schrepel said there hasn’t yet been a decision by an antitrust regulator that has defined the market at stake.

Moreover, agencies could have a chance to not only look at the deal’s impact on the cryptoexchange market “but should also consider whether the deal will indirectly reduce the competitive pressure within blockchain ecosystems, for instance, whether the deal impact investments in the space,” Schrepel said.