Crypto critics file updated campaign finance complaint against Coinbase

Cryptocurrency critic Molly White and consumer advocacy group Public Citizen have filed an updated complaint to the Federal Election Commission as it continues to allege Coinbase violated United States campaign finance laws.

The original complaint, filed on Aug. 1, claimed Coinbase breached campaign finance laws after it started negotiating the Marshals Service contract in early March.

They claim the cryptocurrency exchange donated $25 million to the pro-crypto advocate Fairshake Super PAC in May breached campaign finance laws as they were a “federal contractor.”

Coinbase denied the allegations, with Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal posting on X that Coinbase is exempt from certain campaign finance laws because the Marshals Service isn’t paying Coinbase with Congressionally appropriated funds, therefore not making Coinbase a federal contractor.

White and Public Citizen’s updated complaint, filed on Aug. 5, has challenged this rebuttal:

“Since the Assets Forfeiture Fund is a Congressional appropriation, Coinbase was paid for the performance of a contract from funds appropriated by the Congress, and is thus a federal contractor."

Coinbase responds again

Grewal has since responded to White and Public Citizen’s most recent updated complaint, stressing that seized cryptocurrencies are not Congressionally appropriated funds.

The seized assets came from collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the Silk Road platform. Grewal added:

“It’s also worth noting that Coinbase has donated to Dem and GOP super PACs equally with $500K to House and Senate funds for each party, respectively, for 2024.”

“White and Public Citizen appear to want to report a political bias which does not exist.”

In a separate statement, Rick Claypool, Research Director at Public Citizen slammed Coinbase for “aggressively” exploiting the law laid out in the Citizens United case in 2010.

“The crypto corporation’s eye-popping contributions — made in apparent violation of longstanding pay-to-play prohibitions — demonstrate how lax enforcement emboldens corporate lawbreaking. The FEC must step up.”

White runs the platforms “Web3 is Going Just Great” — highlighting various hacks, scams and failed promises in the cryptocurrency industry — and “Follow the Crypto” — which tracks cryptocurrency industry spending to influence the upcoming US election.