Coinbase dismisses 'Trump favoritism' allegations… "Ludicrous claims"

U.S. virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Coinbase rebutted Democratic Senator Chris Murphy's allegation of 'favored treatment by the Trump administration' as "ludicrous claims."

On the 31st (local time), The Block reported that Senator Murphy claimed Coinbase's political donations and corporate sponsorships are linked to President Donald Trump's political corruption structure. He suggested that political influence may have played a role in the SEC's withdrawal of a lawsuit against Coinbase earlier this year.

Murphy said, "Coinbase donated $46 million in campaign funds and sponsored Trump's inauguration and the construction of the White House ballroom," and added, "all of this is part of Trump's factory of corruption." Democratic senators are demanding disclosure of the funding sources for Trump's $300 million ballroom project.

In response, Coinbase's head of policy Paiyar Shirzad called the allegations "completely baseless," and argued that the political funding committee 'Fairshake' is a bipartisan organization that has also supported three of Senator Murphy's Democratic colleagues. He added that "inauguration donations have been customarily made across the Obama, Biden, and Trump administrations."

Shirzad explained that Coinbase's donation to the White House ballroom was also part of a public-private partnership through The Trust for the National Mall, "a project involving major companies from various industries."

Regarding the SEC lawsuit, he said, "The lawsuit led by the former SEC commissioner was a classic case of abuse of power," and emphasized that "the current SEC's decision to withdraw it was a legally correct judgment." He said, "You may simply dislike our industry," but added, "we are working to ensure the U.S. financial system can be at the forefront of innovation."