Coinbase, America’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, today launched a voter registration tool and crypto policy education initiative.
“The initiative will be rolling out resources to help users educate themselves on crypto issues, their [elected] member’s positions, and how to get involved in the conversations,” the company told Decrypt.
Coinbase’s chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad said in a blog post that this year’s elections will be “the most important in crypto’s history.”
2/ We’ve always said that we will get involved in the political process in moments when it directly impacts our mission — the 2022 U.S. midterm election is one of those key moments.
— Faryar Shirzad (@faryarshirzad) August 25, 2022
“The leaders we elect in November will be making key decisions about how crypto, blockchain, and Web3 are regulated,” he wrote. “We’ve heard loud and clear from our customers that they want to get involved in these debates and are looking for trusted resources, tools, and support to help them be heard.”
Coinbase controversially announced an “apolitical culture” at its San Francisco offices in 2020 when protests rocked the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd.
Staff at Coinbase had asked CEO Brian Armstrong for his views on the Black Lives Matter movement, but instead of taking a stance, he called for a “mission focused company.” 5% of employees then took an exit package and left the firm.
A year later, the company’s chief legal officer, told Decrypt that the no politics mandate was “a success.”
Today’s blog post added: “We don’t regularly talk about politics here at Coinbase, but we’ve always said that we will engage in the political process at moments when it relates to our mission of increasing economic freedom in the world.”
