Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong has endorsed several Republican candidates for the United States Senate in the November elections.
Armstrong took to X on Oct. 20 to show support for pro-crypto Senate candidates, including the pro-XRP (XRP) lawyer John Deaton and former Bridgewater Associates CEO David McCormick.
Both candidates are running under the Republican Party banner, with Deaton running for a Senate seat in Massachusetts and McCormick in Pennsylvania.
Crypto reasons for endorsements
“If you live in Pennsylvania, you should vote for David McCormick. He is the better candidate on crypto,” Coinbase wrote, reposting an X poll showing more robust support for the Republican candidate.
Source: Brian Armstrong
In another X post on Oct. 20, the Coinbase CEO also endorsed Deaton, a Republican challenger seeking to unseat US Democratic Party Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is widely known for her skeptical stance on crypto.
Armstrong argued that Warren “was the one” who appointed Gary Gensler as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission and “encouraged him to try and kill the crypto industry” in the US.
“Luckily, they did not succeed as we and others fought back,” Armstrong wrote, adding:
“She is anti-freedom, thinks the government should run all financial services (similar to China), and has done enormous harm to this country.”
Source: Brian Armstrong
Coinbase CEO has not endorsed a presidential candidate
While backing Republican Senate candidates, Armstrong has refrained from endorsing a presidential candidate.
In August, Armstrong reportedly claimed that the next US administration will be “constructive” on crypto regardless of which party wins.
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“Crypto advocates are making their voices heard as an important voting bloc. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have taken notice, and there is growing momentum to pass comprehensive crypto legislation,” he said.
One of the largest crypto exchanges in the US, Coinbase, was known in the past for its “apolitical” stance.
In 2020, Armstrong published a blog post titled “Coinbase is a mission-focused company,emphasizing the importance of its focus on its crypto adoption mission and avoidance of political issues.
The company has since moved into the political arena. In May, Coinbase’s crypto-advocacy project, Stand With Crypto, announced that it would officially endorse political candidates for “common-sense crypto policy” in the Senate and House of Representatives.
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