Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: Crypto Voters Will Influence US Election

With the United States deeply divided over the Middle East, abortion rights, and immigration this year, could cryptocurrency decide the election?

Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal thinks the answer is yes.

The largest U.S. exchange is seeking to mobilize what it calls a young and diverse group of 52 million cryptocurrency owners.

“When there’s such a small difference between the votes of one candidate and another, a few thousand crypto-enthusiastic voters could decide the outcome,” Grewal noted during the call.

In the few states that ultimately picked a winner, “the margin between one candidate and the other was very small,” he said.

Coinbase has launched Stand With Crypto, a company-backed nonprofit aimed at influencing cryptocurrency voters in battleground states like Ohio and New Hampshire.

Members can sign up and donate to support lobbying efforts. Coinbase is one of the top spenders in the cryptocurrency space on Capitol Hill.

These people will “vote on the crypto-based positions that politicians take, and they’re willing to make their voices heard,” Grewal said.

Cryptocurrency goes mainstream

Other pro-cryptocurrency researchers agree with Coinbase that cryptocurrency enthusiasts could be an important constituency.

However, independent research suggests that voters in swing states by 2024 are most likely to focus on the rising cost of living, rather than anything else.

Despite its flaws, cryptocurrency appears to be entering mainstream politics.

As recently as the 2022 midterm elections, politicians on the campaign trail have avoided mentioning cryptocurrencies, which is not surprising considering the high-profile collapse of FTX in November 2022.

That’s changing, most notably from Republican front-runner Donald Trump, who recently slammed the idea of ​​a digital dollar as a “threat to liberty.”

'Unimaginable'

For Grewal, it is important to see a presidential candidate take a stance on central bank digital currencies, as it is still a fringe issue.

“Just one election cycle ago, this would have been unthinkable to me,” he said.

Grewal said politicians understand that even if the electorate holds a single view, a small but passionate group of voters can determine victory or defeat.

“The fact that we’re discussing central bank digital currencies in the midst of all these other hotly debated issues shows how deeply cryptocurrencies have taken root,” he said.