Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has pushed back against accusations from the U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, who alleged that the crypto exchange benefited from political favoritism under the U.S. President Donald Trump.
The exchange’s Chief Policy Officer (CPO), Faryar Shirzad, publicly responded through an X post, calling the senator’s claims “ridiculous.”
On Thursday, Sen. Murphy claimed Coinbase’s political donations influenced the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to drop its lawsuit against the company earlier this year.
He also pointed to Coinbase’s $46 million in political spending, contributions to President Trump’s inauguration, and a recent donation to build a new White House ballroom as examples of “Trump’s corruption factory.”
Coinbase’s response
Shirzad defended Coinbase, noting that its donations were made through “Fairshake”, a nonpartisan political action committee that has supported both Democrats and Republicans.
He added that inaugural donations are standard corporate practice and that the ballroom contribution was part of a joint project through the Trust for the National Mall, alongside other major companies.
Regarding the SEC case, Shirzad said the prior lawsuit against Coinbase and dozens of other companies reflected “a grotesque pattern of bullying and abuse of power by the previous chair,” praising the current SEC’s decision to dismiss the case as “the right decision on the merits.”
He further emphasized Coinbase’s commitment to innovation, citing nearly 100 new stablecoin projects launched since the GENIUS Act passed, which Coinbase publicly supported.
Political fallout expands
Murphy’s criticism of Coinbase comes just days after his clash with Binance.US, where he alleged the exchanges listed USD1, a Trump-linked stablecoin, as political favor. Binance.US denied the charge, saying the listing was planned well before President Trump’s recent pardon of Binance Co-Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ).
Amid the uproar, U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) announced plans to introduce a resolution banning the U.S. President, their family, and members of Congress from trading cryptocurrencies or stock, a move he says will restore public trust and prevent conflicts of interest in Washington.
The back-to-back controversies highlight growing political tension around crypto’s role in U.S. policymaking and campaign finance.
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