Regulation
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong preaches bipartisanship as Trump touts crypto credibility – DL News
- Brian Armstrong spoke with Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, at the State of Crypto Summit on Thursday.
- He emphasized bipartisanship when Wood brought up Trump and the former president’s support for crypto.
In the United States, crypto has become political.
However, Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, refused to take sides on Thursday.
Towards the end of a roundtable with Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, Wood brought up Donald Trump, who would have said he would be a “crypto president” at a campaign event in early June.
Trump also met with executives of major Bitcoin mining companies Tuesday.
“Of course, some people consider him very controversial,” Wood said, referring to Trump.
Regardless, the former president’s support for crypto has “educated those who haven’t taken a closer look at what this movement is,” she said. “It is indicative of the bipartisan nature of this matter.”
Armstrong responded without mentioning Trump.
“Both sides recognize that they have to solve this problem,” he said, later adding: “Crypto is here.”
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Throughout his discussion with Wood, Armstrong repeatedly emphasized bipartisanship.
He even mentioned that he had traveled to Washington to speak with up to 13 senators earlier this week.
Armstrong’s thoughtful avoidance of appearing partisan comes amid an ongoing campaign by some of the crypto industry’s wealthiest to make digital assets a national issue.
“We need clear rules in the United States,” he said during the panel with Wood, referring to crypto regulation. “The current situation is untenable.”
Super PAC
In anticipation of the state and national elections in November, Armstrong, along with many others in the crypto industry, created a a substantial war chest to support pro-crypto candidates.
FairShake PAC, a political action committee launched in December to advocate for pro-digital asset legislation, has raised nearly $93 million in donations, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Notable donors include the Winklevoss twins, Coinbase, Ripple, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
And in March, Stand With Crypto – a crypto nonprofit launched by Coinbase last year – spear its own PAC, which, again, plans to support pro-crypto candidates.
Big names in the industry have spoken out in support of former President Trump, including Ryan Selkis, CEO of Messari, and David Bailey, director of Bitcoin Magazine.
Ben Weiss is a Dubai correspondent at DL News. Do you have any advice? Send him an email to bweiss@dlnews.com.