Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will join President Biden’s reelection campaign as a senior advisor but has no plans to step down from her role on Coinbase’s global advisory board, the cryptocurrency giant told The Hill.
Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. and a leading advocate for the industry in Washington. The company spent about $2.9 million last year lobbying the federal government on issues such as digital asset regulation and the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology Act, a comprehensive cryptocurrency bill that passed the House of Representatives last month over the objections of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler.
“We are working to address the structural issues that affect unbanked and underbanked communities of color in America,” Bottoms said in a statement to The Hill.
“Cryptocurrency and the blockchain economy are evolving the financial system, empowering and creating opportunity for Black-owned businesses in Atlanta,” Bottoms said. “More than ever, cryptocurrency is a non-political, unifying issue that has bipartisan support and is capturing the attention of voters across the country.”
Neither Bottoms nor Coinbase have publicly commented on whether the company will pay the former mayor, and the Biden campaign did not respond to questions about whether it will pay Bottoms.
company Established The company dissolved its Global Advisory Council in May last year to “navigate the complex and evolving landscape of the cryptocurrency industry and strengthen relationships with strategic stakeholders around the world.” Lance Bottoms retired from his position as White House senior public policy adviser in March 2023, a few months before the council was formed.
In April, Bottoms joined a star-studded council of political insiders that includes former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA), former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and former Rep. Kendrick Meeks (D-FL).
The former mayor was the headline guest at a Stand With Crypto event in Atlanta on Wednesday, the same day news broke that she would serve as an adviser to the Biden campaign. Coinbase helped launch Stand With Crypto, a 501(c)4 nonprofit that describes itself as a “grassroots advocate for clear, common-sense regulation for the cryptocurrency industry” last August.
“This bipartisan issue has garnered the attention and support of elected officials across the country, as cities and small businesses improve and expand services through the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology,” Bottoms said at the event on Wednesday.
From a legal standpoint, the arrangement does not create a conflict of interest, Daniel Caputo, legal counsel for the ethics team at the nonpartisan nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, told The Hill.
“There aren’t a lot of rules that apply to election advisers in general,” Caputo said, noting that her organization has no opinion on the ethics of the situation.
But governance advocates and lawmakers have long decried the “revolving door” between public services and the private sector, which they say can give companies and organisations an advantage when it comes to amending laws, securing government contractors or swaying policymakers in their favour.
The founding member of the International Advisory Council, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), resigned from his position earlier this year after being nominated by President Biden to be the U.S. representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) amid concerns from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) about a potential conflict of interest.
Warren had this to say about Stand With Crypto: “Strongly opposed” to cryptocurrenciesteeth,”An unprecedented ethical initiativeThe former congressman was forced to step down from his private sector advisory role immediately after confirmation, was excluded from OECD decision-making on cryptocurrency and digital asset policy, and was barred from working for any cryptocurrency or digital asset company for four years after the end of his term as OECD ambassador, among other restrictions.
A Coinbase spokesperson noted that Maloney was stepping down because of her official government duties, not because of election activity.
Coinbase and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole are heavily involved in the debate over digital asset regulation in Washington and have positioned themselves as major players in the upcoming presidential election, where Lance Bottoms is advising.
FairShake, the main pro-cryptocurrency super PAC this term, Raised $177.9 million According to data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), $76.5 million is due to be donated by Coinbase between Jan. 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024, with $1 million due to be donated by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
Fairshake has committed $70.9 million to House and Senate races this election cycle. A $10 million endeavor His opposition to the Senate bid of California Rep. Katie Porter (Democrat) was cited as a factor in his defeat in the Democratic primary.
a CNBC Analysis The study found that candidates endorsed by super PACs have won 33 of the 35 primaries they entered, including Westchester County Mayor George Latimer, who defeated Rep. Jamaal Bowman (R-NY) in the New York State 16th District Democratic primary this week.
Bottoms joined the Biden campaign as it focused on battleground states and winning over black voters, two areas where Biden has struggled this election. Former President Trump is seen as a possible Republican presidential candidate.
Georgia is a key battleground state, and Lance Bottoms, who served as a key surrogate for Biden in 2020 and was widely considered the vice presidential frontrunner before selecting Harris, will bring star power to the team.
She also discussed Black engagement in cryptocurrency in the context of the upcoming election at a “Stand With Crypto” event on Wednesday.
“Atlanta has a thriving Black-owned blockchain community, and cryptocurrency provides an opportunity for unbanked and underbanked communities to enhance financial freedom,” Lance Bottoms said at the Stand with Crypto event.
Stand With Crypto also claims that 19% of Georgians own cryptocurrency, and that the number of crypto supporters in the state is three times greater than the vote margin between Trump and Biden in 2020.
The event also featured musical performances by Dem Franchise Boyz and Bow Wow, who said, “Atlanta voters understand the power of community, which is why they support cryptocurrency now and on Election Day.”
Atlanta will host the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump on Thursday.
Trump launched his platform as a pro-cryptocurrency presidential candidate, calling himself the “Crypto President” at a fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya in San Francisco earlier this month. According to Reuters.
Last month, he took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to voice his support for cryptocurrency and slammed the Biden administration’s approach to the industry.
“I am very positive and open to crypto companies and everything related to this new and fast-growing industry. Our country must be a leader in this field. There can be no second place.” Trump wrote:.
The cryptocurrency industry has been at odds with the Biden administration, particularly SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, as Coinbase has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. The SEC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) On Thursday, a request was made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for information related to digital asset investigations and enforcement actions.
“This is no way to regulate, and this is no way to run a transparent government. Today we demand better from our financial regulators,” Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said. I wrote to X.
Updated at 2:30pm ET.
