Coinbase faces a civic rebel over sponsoring a military parade in DC
As the first large scale Military Parade For decades on the streets of Washington, D.C. on Saturday, organizers thanked various corporate sponsors, including the country’s male and female uniforms, and a huge crypto exchange. Coinbase. Not everyone is satisfied with the sight of the crypto industry, which was established against government power.
Coinbase According to it, it was one of many companies that sponsored the parade. statement From America250, the official organization hosting events to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US, other corporate sponsors include data company Palantir, aerospace giants Lockheed Martinand family names like Walmart, coca cola And Chrysler.
Kara Calvert, Coinbase’s Vice President of US Policy, represented the company in the parade.
“It was an absolute personal honor to attend the 250th celebration. @usarmy With my son and mom,” Calvert said. post Above x. “I was honored to represent you too. @coinbase We are proud sponsors at the event @America250. ”
Some viewed sponsorship as a way to bring awareness to crypto, while others saw it as a major break from the industry’s spirit as a financial system independent of central entities.
“What Coinbase did by sponsoring this Army parade feels like a shame for everything our industry represents.” I wrote it X.
Adam Cochran, managing partner of Blockchain Venture Capital Firm Cinneamhain Ventures, said as a result of the sponsorship, he will sell his shares in the company and withdraw crypto assets from the platform. post x.
Cochrane noted that the sponsorship opposed Coinbase policy About political causes. “We don’t internally advocate for any specific causes or candidates that are unrelated to our mission, because it’s a distraction from our mission,” the company said on its website.
“The sponsorship of military parades in divided countries, the already divided view of code, is not faithful to this policy,” Cochrane said. “It’s just bad marketing that hurts recruitment in this industry.”
It’s unclear how much money Coinbase has spent on sponsorships, or how much money a top executive like CEO is spending. Brian Armstrongwas attending. A Coinbase spokesman declined to comment when contacted luck.
However, some people argued that the sponsorship of the Coinbase event was not supported by political parties, as they argued that the military was a non-political system.
“$ COIN Supporting our military never implies their political affiliation,” one user wrote. response In a Cochrane post. “The military should always be apolitical for the benefit of its people.”
Despite criticism, Coinbase shares have risen 5% since the market opened on Monday, up from $248 to $256.
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com