Coinbase boosts lobbying efforts with massive political donations

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—by Protos Staff

Coinbase as a firm forbids its employees from discussing politics, but this restriction doesn’t apply to the firm itself, which makes a variety of political donations.

Coinbase’s efforts have included expanding its lobbying efforts as well as supporting political action committees like Fairshake. 

However, Coinbase has also been donating to organizations formed under Section 527, including both the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA). 

ProPublica’s 527 Explorer, which uses IRS reporting information, shows that Coinbase donated $50,000 each to the RGA and the DGA in March. This wasn’t the first donation to either organization to come from Coinbase, with the RGA also receiving $500 in December and $50,450 days before FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022. 

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Besides these contributions to the RGA, there were other donations to GOP-affiliated groups, including $105,000 donated to the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) last July and $75,000 donated in November 2022. The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) also received $25,000 last June and $25,000 in November 2022.

Democrat-affiliated groups received donations as well, including the DGA, which received $50,000 in March of this year as well as $25,000 last July and $75,000 in November 2022. The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) received $105,000 last July and $103,250 in November 2022. Additionally, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) received $25,000 in November 2022.

These contributions are listed as coming from Coinbase itself; similar searches for other exchanges like FTX will reveal donations coming from executives instead of the firms. A review of a search for FTX is littered with financial criminals, including Ryan Salame, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Nishad Singh. The main overlap with Coinbase is Salame also giving $500,000 to the RGA in November 2022.

While employees at Coinbase are not permitted to discuss these donations, they help highlight how widely Coinbase is investing in its efforts to ensure favorable legislation is passed.

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