Many employees were shocked by Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong’s blog post imposing the rules on Sunday. According to two people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified, some are concerned that he is trying to hinder discourse that should be happening, Bloomberg reported. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and a noted Bitcoin advocate criticized Coinbase’s ban on politics, saying late Wednesday the change runs counter to cryptocurrencies’ core principles.
Coinbase’s new apolitical stance creates a divide in the industry.
Several veterans of the crypto industry suggested that COINBASE CEO Brian Armstrong’s stance represents a broader shift taking place in a sector founded by computer hackers and libertarian-leaning programmers. Twitter’s former CEO, Dick Costolo, also tweeted that “me-first capitalists who think you can separate society from business are going to be the first people lined up against the wall and shot in the revolution.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in the blog that the company should be laser-focused on its mission and leave politics out of it.
Several in the crypto community disagree with Coinbase’s apolitical stance.
In the ever-increasing politically polarizing world, Coinbase CEO has asked its employees to be apolitical. The recent US Presidential epitomized by the chaotic debate this week between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden has left many companies struggling with how to stay above the fray. “This is highlighting an evolution in crypto culture,” said Adam Draper, a venture capitalist who was an early investor in Coinbase. “Crypto is about innovation in finance and connecting the world’s financial infrastructure. The culture of the early crypto adopter was idealist and anarchist. Bitcoin has enabled the use of money without the help of central authorities like banks or governments.
