{"id":21193,"date":"2023-08-15T19:10:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T19:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/coinbase-political-initiative-features-us-lawmaker-who-admitted-to-ethics-violations\/"},"modified":"2023-08-15T19:10:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T19:10:14","slug":"coinbase-political-initiative-features-us-lawmaker-who-admitted-to-ethics-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftandcrypto-news.com\/crypto\/coinbase-political-initiative-features-us-lawmaker-who-admitted-to-ethics-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Coinbase political initiative features US lawmaker who admitted to ethics violations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase\u2019s latest push advocating for crypto holders to \u201cspeak directly to lawmakers\u201d featured a House of Representatives member who previously acknowledged 11 ethics violations.<\/p>\n

As of Aug. 15, more than 54,000 individuals had signed on to Coinbase\u2019s “Stand with Crypto Alliance” in an effort to engage with U.S. lawmakers at the federal level. The initiative allows users to view the \u201ccrypto sentiment\u201d of members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

List of elected representatives. Source: standwithcrypto.org<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time of publication, the initiative\u2019s landing page featured Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Brad Sherman as \u201cstrongly against\u201d crypto policies, and Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Ritchie Torres and David Schweikert as \u201cvery supportive.\u201d Warren has often suggested that crypto is linked to illicit activities, such as facilitating the fentanyl trade in China, while Torres\u00a0called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to\u00a0limit its enforcement cases\u00a0concerning crypto firms.<\/p>\n

According to the Stand with Crypto information page, Schweikert has backed three pro-crypto bills during his time in office and made four statements referencing digital assets. The alliance included the disclaimer that \u201cMembers of Congress may have views you strongly agree or disagree with\u201d but did not explicitly mention any non-crypto policy stances.<\/p>\n

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Earlier this week, bipartisan Blockchain Caucus co-chairs @RepTomEmmer @RepBillFoster<\/a> @RepDarrenSoto<\/a> and I, sent a letter to the House of Representatives concerning the Bipartisan Senate Infrastructure Bill being funded by our crypto currency industry. pic.twitter.com\/duEHPzD5gu<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rep. David Schweikert (@RepDavid) August 11, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2020, the House Ethics Committee fined\u00a0Schweikert $50,000 for violations of campaign finance that broke House ethics rules. In 2022, the Federal Election Commission fined the Arizona representative $125,000 for related allegations. The violations centered around a failure to report loans and using campaign funds for personal matters. Cointelegraph reached out to Schweikert’s office for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>Crypto adoption crosses party lines amid Washington\u2019s political deadlock<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Among the donations the Stand with Crypto Alliance had received at the time of publication included more than $215 from a crypto user with the X (formerly Twitter) handle “Jerry Mander\u201d \u2014 a play on words of gerrymander, the process of manipulating district boundaries to favor a certain political party. There was also a $191.98 donation from an unverified account that may belong to Roger Bartlett, Coinbase\u2019s head of institutional operations solutions and Coinbase Treasury. <\/p>\n

The political initiative was the latest in Coinbase\u2019s policy of\u00a0calling for crypto users to \u201celect pro-crypto candidates\u201d in the United States. The exchange is currently facing a lawsuit from the SEC over allegedly unregistered securities offerings, with many lawmakers and industry advocates calling for the regulator to dismiss the case.<\/p>\n

Collect this article as an NFT<\/em><\/strong> to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/em><\/strong>Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems\u2019 \u2018anti-crypto army\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n