Coinbase donates $25 million to back pro-crypto candidates for the 2024 US election
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Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange, recently became the second firm in the last seven days to donate to Fairshake, a federal super political action committee (PAC). The purpose behind the donation is to back pro-crypto candidates running in the 2024 US elections.
The company donated $25 million, matching the amount previously donated by Ripple. In total, the two new donations have brought Fairshake and its affiliates to $160 million raised in this election cycle, which makes this one of the largest Super PACs to date.
Why is Coinbase Backing Election Candidates?
Typically, Coinbase tries to avoid getting involved in politics. In fact, it is its strict policy not to get involved. Given this, its decision to support pro-crypto candidates for the US presidential election might have come as a surprise to many.
In his recent blog post, Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, explained the exchange’s decision by saying: “When it comes to our mission of increasing economic freedom by growing the adoption of cryptocurrencies, we are deeply engaged in policy efforts”.
In other words, Coinbase believes that a pro-crypto president will be good for the industry, which is why its goal of helping the industry grow overwrites its no-politics policy, to put it simply. Armstrong said that there are 52 million Americans who own digital currencies, but despite this, there are some congressional leaders who have tried to eliminate the crypto industry from the entire country.
He believes that these people are out of touch with their constituents, and therefore, they cannot do their job and represent the people adequately.
US At The Major Crossroads
The fact that the US is becoming a crypto-unfriendly nation was clearer than ever about a year ago when the US SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, among many other major crypto exchanges. The SEC sued the exchange for operating its crypto asset trading platform as an “unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency,” as the regulator views it.
However, the crypto industry did manage to secure some victories, such as earlier this year when the US SEC finally approved a Bitcoin spot ETF after more than a decade of various companies fighting to make it happen.
Then, only a week ago, the House of Representatives passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, despite the Biden Administration and the SEC Chair Gary Gensler strongly opposing it.
This bill is important because it will finally establish a regulatory framework for crypto assets, covering areas such as consumer protection and the use of digital assets in illicit finance. However, the bill has not become law yet, as it still faces an uncertain future in the Senate, which also needs its own vote.
According to Coinbase’s CEO, the bill represents progress. However, he believes that the best way to get regulatory clarity is to elect a pro-crypto candidate on both sides of the aisle and make sure that anti-crypto candidates are removed from office.
