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Coinbase App to Track US Politicians' Crypto-Friendliness Ahead of Midterm Elections
The trading platform's CEO Brian Armstrong says the company wants to help pro-crypto candidates solicit donations from the crypto community.
Updated May 11, 2023, 4:58 p.m. Published Sep 15, 2022, 3:10 p.m.
Coinbase (COIN) wants to let U.S. users track how crypto-friendly their local politicians are through its trading app.
In August, Coinbase launched a policy education initiative that included a voter registration tool. The initiative will now be incorporated into the company's crypto trading app, the company's CEO Brian Armstrong said in a series of tweets on Wednesday.
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With the integration, U.S. users will be able to see "crypto sentiment scores" for members of Congress and register to vote directly via the app.
"Over time, we want to help pro-crypto candidates solicit donations from the crypto community (in crypto)," Armstrong tweeted.
Coinbase has been actively lobbying the U.S. Congress for some time, but with midterm elections coming up later this year, its efforts have intensified. It has formed a political action committee and its leaders have made increasing noise about the political stakes crypto faces at the ballot box.
"The leaders we elect this November will be the ones making critical decisions about the future of crypto, blockchain, and Web3 - and about your economic freedom," Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad tweeted in August.
On Tuesday, bitcoiner Bruce Fenton lost a bid to represent the state of New Hampshire as a Republican in the U.S. Senate, continuing a recent losing streak for pro-crypto candidates.
Read more: Crypto Booster Bond Loses Primary Bid for New York Congressional Seat
But lawmakers like U.S. Representative Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) are still in the running in their respective races.
Meanwhile, Coinbase itself is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its crypto asset listing processes, staking services and yield-generating products. The platform had previously filed a petition criticizing the state of U.S. crypto regulations and requesting clear guidance from the SEC on crypto assets that qualify as securities.
In an exclusive interview with CoinDesk last week, SEC chief Gary Gensler said crypto firms that issue tokens don't need further guidance, and that most crypto tokens are investment contracts.
Read more: Coinbase Wants You to Register to Vote (for Pro-Crypto Candidates)
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