Coinbase CEO Demands Election of Pro-Crypto Lawmakers
- In response to the Wells Notice, the CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has asked the crypto investors to elect pro-crypto lawmakers.
- “We are going to elect pro-crypto candidates in this country to make sure that our success is ensured,” said Armstrong.
- The SEC recently issued a Wells Notice to the crypto exchange regarding the crypto exchange’s staking and other services.
- Coinbase also recently debuted the Crypto435 campaign to “grow the crypto advocacy community and share tools and resources.”
Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, received a Wells Notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as per a blog post this week, and it seems that the crypto exchange is now a part of the regulator’s war against companies allowing investors to stake their coins. In response to the Wells Notice, the CEO of the crypto exchange, Brian Armstrong, has asked the citizens to elect pro-crypto lawmakers.
In a recent Twitter Spaces, Armstrong, along with Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, Parul Grewal, talked about the situation and the actions taken by the regulator against crypto exchanges recently. The crypto community on the social media platform came out in support of Armstrong’s statement and a user @m0nsterm0nkey asked how can investors help (example signing petitions, etc.)
“What we’re going to do is start putting out content where people can contact their congressman, donate to pro-crypto candidates, show up at town halls, make your voice heard,” said the Coinbase executive. “We are going to elect pro-crypto candidates in this country to make sure that our success is ensured.”
It is crucial to note that Armstrong’s call to action saw a 180 degree turn from the executive’s statement in 2020, when he stated that the exchange should not advocate “for any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission because it is a distraction from our mission.” However, it seems that the exchange is willing to fight the SEC over its treatment of crypto companies.
Interestingly, following this 2020 statement, Coinbase became the first publicly-listed crypto exchange in the US, and representatives from the exchange met with several US lawmakers and regulators. The company also debuted the Crypto435 campaign, as reported earlier by BitcoinWisdom, to promote pro-crypto policies in the United States and “grow the crypto advocacy community and share tools and resources.”
“When you think about 20% of Americans owning crypto, […] those are real voters who care about these races and who can actually make a difference if they show up to vote,” said Kara Calvert, the head of US policy at Coinbase.
It is also interesting to note that it is unclear what the SEC wants since the exchange has been “told nothing,” as per Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, Parul Grewal. In an earlier report, it was confirmed by Grewal that the exchange asked the regulator specifically to identify which assets on the exchange they believe may be securities, and they declined to do so.
Moreover, Grewal said that his company met with SEC representatives “more than 30 times over nine months,” but largely did not receive feedback on its proposals.
In the Twitter Spaces, Armstrong asked crypto investors to support a petition to the SEC that argues that the staking of crypto assets can be considered a security. The regulator recently fined crypto exchange Kraken for providing staking services to residents of the US.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
