Regulation
Coinbase donates $25 million to crypto super PAC
Coinbase became the second company in a week to donate $25 million to Fairshake, a federal super political action committee (PAC) that supports pro-crypto candidates during the 2024 US elections.
The money, which comes following a $25 million donation from Ripplemeans Fairshake and its affiliates have raised as much as $160 million this election cycle, making it one of the largest Super PACs.
Coinbase has a strict apolitical policy but, CEO Brian Armstrong says in a blog, “when it comes to our mission to increase economic freedom by increasing cryptocurrency adoption, we are deeply committed to political efforts.”
Armstrong claims that 52 million Americans own cryptocurrencies but: “For too long, some congressional leaders who are out of touch with their constituents have attempted to eliminate the cryptocurrency industry from the United States.”
Last summer, Coinbase was reported by the SEC for operating its cryptocurrency trading platform as a national stock exchange, broker, and unregistered clearing house.
The industry secured another victory last week when the House of Representatives passed the Financial and Technology Innovation for the 21st Century Act, despite opposition by the Biden administration and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
The bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets, covering areas such as consumer protection and the use of cryptocurrencies in illicit finance, but still faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
Armstrong cites the bill as an example of recent progress, but says that “the best way to achieve regulatory clarity in democratic countries is to elect pro-crypto candidates on both sides of the aisle and vote anti-crypto candidates out of office.”