Coinbase donates $25m to crypto super PAC

finextra.com:

The money, which comes on the heels of a $25 million donation from Ripple, means that Fairshake and its affiliates have raised to $160 million in this election cycle, making it one of the largest Super PACs.

Coinbase has a strict no-politics policy but, says CEO Brian Armstrong in a blog, "when it comes to our mission of increasing economic freedom by growing the adoption of cryptocurrencies, we are deeply engaged in policy efforts".

Armstrong claims that 52 million Americans have owned crypto but: "For too long, some congressional leaders who are out of touch with their constituents have attempted to eliminate the crypto industry from the US."

Last summer, Coinbase was sued by the SEC for operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

The industry secured another win last week when the House of Representatives passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act despite opposition from the Biden Administration and SEC chair Gary Gensler.

The bill establishes a regulatory framework for digital assets, covering areas such as consumer protections, the use of crypto in illicit finance, but still faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Armstrong cites the bill as an example of recent progress but says, "the best way to get regulatory clarity in democratic countries is to elect pro-crypto candidates on both sides of the aisle, and to vote anti-crypto candidates out of office".