Coinbase deepens ties to Trump with advisory council pick

US President Donald Trump’s co-campaign manager for the 2024 election will be joining cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase’s advisory council to address digital asset regulation.

In a Jan. 29 notice, Coinbase said former Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita would join former US Senator Kyrsten Sinema, former New York Fed president Bill Dudley and former Colombian Ambassador to the US Luis Alberto Moreno on the exchange’s Global Advisory Council. LaCivita, who worked to help elect Trump, has close ties to the Republican National Committee and likely continues to have a relationship with the US president.

According to LaCivita, the crypto industry “deserves better” than former US President Joe Biden’s administration’s approach to legislation and regulation. He echoed Trump’s claims of making the US a leader in digital assets.

Coinbase established its advisory council in May 2023 to navigate the “increasingly complex and evolving” crypto landscape globally. The council’s members have included several former US lawmakers, including former Senator Pat Toomey. Cointelegraph contacted Coinbase regarding its current ties to the Trump administration but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reportedly met with Trump in November after the US election to discuss personnel appointments. The exchange donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund and said it was “committed to supporting” the transition from the Biden administration.

Related: US senator calls crypto regulation ’a matter of national importance’

In 2020, Armstrong said Coinbase would not support “any particular causes or candidates” unrelated to its mission, calling them a “distraction.” After the exchange received a Wells notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 — that ultimately led to a civil lawsuit — the company launched efforts to influence the outcome of US congressional elections, later contributing $45 million to help elect “pro-crypto” candidates in 2024.

With the election of Trump, some executives at crypto firms have suggested that the SEC’s new leadership could drop enforcement cases, potentially including Coinbase’s. A federal judge ordered Coinbase’s case stayed in January pending a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that could reverse an order denying the exchange’s motion for judgment.

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