2024

Brian

Donald Trump

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, will reportedly meet with Donald Trump as the president-elect continues to announce staff picks for his administration and the heads of government departments.
According to a Nov. 18 Wall Street Journal report, Trump <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-live-11-18-2024/card/exclusive-trump-to-meet-privately-with-coinbase-ceo-brian-armstrong-DDkgF0xW1BW242rVeuqx" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">intended</a> to meet privately with Armstrong to discuss personnel appointments. The Coinbase CEO did not appear to have donated directly to the Republican’s 2024 campaign or political action committees (PACs) directly supporting him but <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-harris-trump-administration-us-election" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said before the US election</a> the crypto exchange would be prepared to work with a Trump administration.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wIvp6QCwXhg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It’s unclear whether Armstrong or a Coinbase employee could potentially have a role in the next US president’s administration. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in July, then-candidate Trump <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-promises-crypto-election-usa" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said he intended</a> to establish a “Bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council” to “design transparent regulatory guidance for the benefit of the entire industry” within 100 days of taking office.
Since the election results were announced on Nov. 6, Trump has <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trumps-former-sec-chair-us-attorney-southern-district-new-york" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">announced several potential picks</a> for his administration, even <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/donald-trump-sec-chair-senate-recess-appointment" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">threatening to bypass Senate confirmation</a> to push them through in 2025. At the time of publication, the president-elect had not publicly said whom he intended to nominate to potentially replace Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, whom he promised to fire “on day one.”
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-armstrong-sec-criticism-united-states-elections" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Coinbase CEO wants next SEC chair to apologize for ‘damage’ done</a>
Armstrong posted on X after the US election <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1858023954776207730" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">supporting</a> at least one of Trump’s initiatives, the “Department of Government Efficiency” — which is not actually a department unless established by Congress — under Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.&nbsp;
<h2 id="brian-armstrong-s-shifting-positions-on-us-politics">Brian Armstrong’s shifting positions on US politics&nbsp;</h2>
In 2020, the Coinbase CEO <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbase-is-a-mission-focused-company" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> the company would not support “any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission because it is a distraction from our mission.” However, his public position appeared to significantly change in 2023 after the crypto exchange received a Wells notice from the SEC and a subsequent lawsuit for allegedly offering unregistered securities. 
After the SEC Wells notice, Armstrong <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-ceo-calls-for-action-in-electing-pro-crypto-lawmakers-following-sec-wells-notice" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-ceo-calls-for-action-in-electing-pro-crypto-lawmakers-following-sec-wells-notice">called on crypto users</a> to “elect pro-crypto candidates” in an attempt to achieve regulatory clarity for the industry. In 2024, he personally <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-ceo-endorses-pro-crypto-republican-senate-candidates" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">asked his X followers</a> to vote for Republican candidates for the US Senate in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Coinbase and Armstrong also contributed roughly $46 million to the Fairshake PAC to support 2024 candidates the committee deemed favored crypto policies, many of whom won their primaries and respective races. The exchange has already <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fairshake-super-pac-raising-us-midterms" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">donated $25 million to the PAC</a> to help “elect pro-crypto candidates” in the 2026 US midterms.&nbsp;
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/anti-aging-multi-millionaire-bryan-johnson-almost-devoted-life-crypto/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Anti-aging tycoon Bryan Johnson almost devoted his life to crypto</a>

Coinbase CEO to meet with Trump to discuss personnel appointments — WSJ

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