Coinbase torched by crypto community for US army parade sponsorship
Coinbase’s sponsorship of the US Army’s 250-year anniversary parade, which coincided with Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, has gone down terribly with the crypto community.
While the sparsely attended event left Trump looking visibly glum and as though he would rather be anywhere else, Coinbase’s name was emblazoned front and center on the main podium and splashed all over star-spangled ad breaks during the event’s livestream.
However, having one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges featured so prominently couldn’t sway the crypto community on X, who described it as a “deeply disturbing” PR stunt, “gross,” and “bootlicking.”
“I entered the crypto world in 2017 to stand against late-stage capitalism… not help crypto bros fund it,” one former Consensys employee said.
Read more: Opinion: Coinbase is a ‘mission focused company’
Some users pointed out how Coinbase sponsoring the parade directly contradicts its own position of staying neutral on political causes. Indeed, many of the crypto exchange’s prior claims directly contradict this weekend’s sponsorship.
Others criticized its decision to sponsor the overtly patriotic event, given that it relies on cheap overseas customer support rather than American workers. On this point, they also referenced the bribing of Coinbase’s customer support staff in India that led to a major data leak.
Crypto journalist David Morris also pointed out how Coinbase’s customer data was handled by “literal Italian fascists” via the firm Neutrino.
Neutrino’s co-founders previously worked for Hacking Team, a spyware company whose software has been used by numerous repressive countries and their military. In Veracruz, Mexico, where at least 19 journalists have been killed since 2012, the state espionage unit employed the use of Hacking Team’s technology.
Read more: Coinbase: Politics for me, but not for thee
Former Unlock Protocol developer Angela Steffens described Coinbase’s parade sponsorship as some “North Korea shit.”
She said, “If the security breaches didn’t get you to drop @coinbase, backing the militarization of our executive office should.”
Crypto founder “Captain Nemo,” said, “Some of us have spent months hiding in shelters, lost loved ones, and suffered unspeakable pain at the hands of the very same army you’re now sponsoring.”
He added, “Crypto emerged from ideals of decentralization, individual sovereignty, and freedom from oppressive state control — not to funnel resources into institutions whose core purpose involves violence and ending lives.”
Coinbase apologists called “tone-deaf”
Some Coinbase goons tried to defend the sponsorship. Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin argued that the crypto exchange is “ahead of the cultural curve again,” and claimed the majority of people complaining about Coinbase’s sponsorship “fall into the cultural elite bucket.”
Former senior Coinbase employee Luke Blood said, “It’s only political if you hate America,” and described one of the most well-funded armies in the world as “apolitical.”
This response was described as “tone-deaf,” and Bunin’s argument was compared to “nation-state bootlicking.”
Read more: Coinbase breach over Christmas exposed 70,000 users
The whole thing took place as military action between Israel and Iran ramped up. The International Atomic Energy Agency had just accused Iran of breaching its nuclear obligations.
Israel then began targeting nuclear scientists and ballistic missile stations with the goal of destroying Iran’s nuclear program and military capabilities.
Iran then launched a series of strikes back targeting residential areas in Tel Aviv, some of which contain Iron Dome defences.
As Trump claims to oppose Israel’s attacks on Iran and strive for negotiations, the government has been sending multiple military supply planes across the North Atlantic Ocean.
Got a tip? Send us an email securely via Protos Leaks. For more informed news, follow us on X, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.