Coinbase U-Turns on Politics With New Tool to Promote Crypto-Friendly Politicians

cryptonews.com:

Coinbase has launched a new tool on its app that enables users to learn about how their elected officials view cryptocurrency. The tool is intended to help the exchange's customers reach out to US lawmakers and potentially exert an influence on how they vote with regards to crypto- and blockchain-related issues and legislation.

The launch comes nearly two years after Coinbase effectively banned its employees from discussing and debating political issues at work, leading some media outlets and commentators to present the new rollout as something of a hypocritical move on the exchange's part.

However, the internal banning of political discussion was arguably a step aimed at protecting company harmony from contentious inter-staff disputes, while the new feature is aimed at putting external pressure on politicians in order to promote pro-crypto policies. This latter fact has therefore led some within the industry to voice approval for Coinbase's latest move.

Announcing the new feature on Twitter, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong explained that it was aimed at all 103 million of its verified users, who it wanted to help "get educated on the crypto positions held by political leaders where they live."

The ultimate aim of such education is to transform Coinbase users into an active political demographic capable of encouraging/pressuring US lawmakers into supporting pro-crypto legislation and regulation. Armstrong even revealed that, over time, the exchange wants to "help pro-crypto candidates solicit donations from the crypto community (in crypto)."

Coinbase also plans to eventually roll out the feature to jurisdictions other than the United States, with Armstrong adding that the exchange will "also expand to get more geographic