Former Lawmakers Join Coinbase’s New Global Advisory Council

Former US lawmakers Patrick Toomey, R-Pa., Tim Ryan, D-Ohio., and Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y will join Coinbase’s newly launched Global Advisory Council to guide its leadership team.

“The creation of the Advisory Council is a significant step for Coinbase as we navigate an increasingly complex and evolving landscape in the US and internationally,” the exchange said in a statement. 

The announcement comes a few months after a probe from a US regulator and as lawmakers are working on legislation to write rules for crypto. 

Past work by the former lawmakers

Toomey, Ryan and Maloney were all active in introducing crypto legislation during their time in Congress. 

Toomey, who used to sit on the Senate Banking Committee, introduced a bill to regulate stablecoins last year. 

Maloney, who used to be in the House Agriculture Committee, introduced a House version of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, also known as DCCPA.

That bill, introduced last year, would have given the Commodity Futures Trading Commission new authorities to regulate “digital commodities.”

Ryan introduced alongside now House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry, R- N.C. a bill in 2021 to clarify a crypto provision in an infrastructure bill. 

Coinbase leadership will also be advised by Chris Lehane, chief strategy officer at venture capital firm Haun Ventures, and John Anzalone, founder of Impact Research Polling, the exchange said.

“We chose to build in America because we want to be part of the solution and believe America would be best served by embracing the potential of crypto and blockchain technology. Our new Advisory Council will play a key role in helping us work with regulators to achieve that goal, but this is just the start.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong welcomed the council on Twitter.

Welcome @SenToomey, @TimRyan, @JohnAnzo, @RepSeanMaloney, and @chrislehane  to the Coinbase Global Advisory Council.  Excited to work with you to update the financial system and get regulatory clarity for crypto. https://t.co/lqk38ZudcI

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) May 12, 2023

“Excited to work with you to update the financial system and get regulatory clarity for crypto,” Armstrong said.

Coinbase has been embroiled in a fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for months.

The SEC sent Coinbase a “Wells notice,” in March, threatening the crypto exchange with legal actions in connection to its staking service Coinbase Earn and other products.

Coinbase pushed back saying that an enforcement action against the exchange it would “do substantial unnecessary harm to the public.”

Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has repeatedly said that most cryptocurrencies are securities while calling on crypto platforms to register with the agency.