Coinbase Employees Found Behind 'Law Enforcement' Letter to Congress

A recent letter sent to congressional leadership by the Blockchain Association is facing scrutiny after it emerged that many of its "law enforcement" signatories are currently employed by major cryptocurrency firms. The word "former," it seems, was doing some heavy lifting.

In a section labeled "The 'law enforcement' endorsement," the Blockchain Association announced it was "sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Schumer, signed by 160 former national security, intelligence, and law enforcement professionals in support of the Clarity Act." According to the trade group, the document "makes the case that digital asset market structure is a law enforcement and national security priority." The association argued that "clear rules bring activity under U.S. oversight, strengthen consumer protection, and help investigators catch bad actors," reiterating that "the responsible digital asset industry stands with law enforcement."

The "Industry insiders" reaction was less unified. The sector now stands accused of dressing up corporate lobbying as independent law enforcement support. Journalist Brendan Pedersen noted that a "cursory search and you'll find dozens of folks here who are currently paid by or repping the crypto industry." Pedersen specifically stated that he had found nine Coinbase employees in like 15 minutes. Among the listed names are Faryar Shirzad, the Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, and employees from the "Coinbase Global Intelligence" division and the "Coinbase financial crimes legal team."

Defenders are firing back. Crypto policy advocate Alexander Grieve questioned the logic of the reporters' scrutiny, asking, "Does that mean they didn't work in law enforcement?" Grieve pointed out what he views as a double standard in financial reporting, adding, "If there are law enforcement people who work at banks now, does that preclude them from weighing in too?" Another commentator also emphasized their background credentials, noting, "They are also all former law enforcement, intelligence and/or military w/ resumes that include FinCen, DoJ, CIA, etc."