US Senator Elizabeth Warren recently accused crypto exchange Coinbase of hiring national security veterans to oppose her legislation.
The Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange responded to the accusation and said that she was wrong to claim that Coinbase was trying to undermine bipartisan legislation.
The crypto company said that the senator’s accusations were unfounded and also misrepresented their efforts and intentions.
The letter
On Friday, Coinbase wrote a letter directed at Senator Elizabeth Warren to refute her claim that the crypto firm was interfering with bipartisan legislation by hiring national security veterans.
Dated December 22nd, the letter informed the senator that the crypto exchange had received her letter dated December 18th regarding its approach of recruiting leading national security experts to combat terrorist financing.
Other than Coinbase, Senator Warren had also sent the letter to Kristin Smith, the CEO of Blockchain Association, and Jerry Brito, the Executive Director of Coin Center.
Coinbase emphasized that it was committed to becoming the most secure, trusted, and reliable crypto firm all over the world.
The company asserted that recruiting top-tier talent across different levels is essential for it to realize this vision.
Therefore, it asserted that the senator’s accusations were a willful misrepresentation of its efforts and intentions.
The crypto exchange
Coinbase further said it had always actively supported responsible regulation and legislation in the crypto industry and would continue to do the same.
It added that they aimed to foster a compliant and safe environment, which is essential for the stability and growth of the industry and has been a hallmark of the crypto exchange.
The exchange added that they believe it is critical to the national security of America that foundational and emerging technologies remain in the country.
It said that their national security had been undermined seriously due to the loss of US leadership in mobile phone and semiconductor technology.
The exchange asserted that the efforts of driving digital asset innovators offshore would have similar consequences for the US.
It highlighted the fact that most of the G20 countries are already integrating crypto and digital assets into their financial systems and China is also working on bringing digital asset innovators to Hong Kong.
The conclusion
Coinbase offered to provide a comprehensive briefing to Warren at the end of the letter to help her understand its commitment to dealing with terrorist financing.
It was also prepared to brief the senator about the important steps being taken in other countries to adopt this technology.
Warren is a crypto skeptic and has been very vocal about her stance. The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act is one she has supported.
Some have referred to the Act as Warren’s effort of trying to ban crypto. A petition can be found on Change.org, which aims to stop this proposed crypto ban.
Currently, there is no clear legislation or regulation applicable to the crypto industry in the United States.
Coinbase has also criticized the US SEC for not providing clarity regarding the regulations applicable to the crypto space.