As part of a campaign to educate people about cryptocurrency policy, Coinbase’s chief executive officer previously stated that the company has launched a voter registration portal.
Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, announced in a blog post on Thursday that the cryptocurrency exchange will give users the option for voter registration in the US through the Capitol Canary website.
The tool for voter registration, according to the policy head, was a component of a program designed to give the crypto community “tools to participate in the crucial policy discussions happening across the United States.”
Being aware of and involved in the issues surrounding the 2022 midterm elections in the United States, according to Shirzad, is “mission crucial for the future of cryptocurrency” since the legislators “will be making vital decisions about how crypto, blockchain, and web3 are regulated.”
Crypto and Web3 are more prominently discussed in the media and in politics today than ever before, according to Shirzad. The public is interested in them, political candidates are discussing them, and the crypto community wants to help influence them.
Added him:
“In the next few years, legislation and regulations will be developed that will help shape the direction of our industry for the coming decade […] It is essential that our elected leaders understand the potential of crypto and support a policy framework that fosters continued innovation here in the United States.”
The policy head claims that employees at Coinbase “rarely discuss politics.” Following a blog post in September 2020 in which he characterized the cryptocurrency exchange as “laser-focused on fulfilling its purpose” as a part of a corporation that mainly refrained from participating in U.S. politics, CEO Brian Armstrong caused a stir.
At the time, Armstrong stated, “We don’t internally support any causes or candidates that are unrelated to our objective because it is a distraction from our mission.” We might not all agree on the answer even if we all agree that there is a problem.
The CEO of Coinbase clarified that the cryptocurrency exchange would participate “if a bill is introduced around crypto,” but not for issues like healthcare or education.
Armstrong shared a link to a blog post that contained easily refuted political myths on his Twitter account in October 2020, but the link has since been taken down. Since then, he has met with numerous American lawmakers and posted about crypto-related problems on his social media profiles.
Given concerns over other issues like the economy, gun control in the wake of numerous mass shootings, and women’s reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in June, it is unclear whether candidates’ positions on cryptocurrency and blockchain will make or break their chances of winning over American voters.
Coinbase registered a political action committee in February 2018 to promote “crypto-forward lawmakers” and established the Crypto Council for Innovation in April 2021 to better foster a conversation on cryptocurrencies between people working in the industry and legislators.
