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Faryar Shirzad, head of policy at the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has played down many of the claims made by a US senator regarding ties to the Trump administration.
In a Thursday X post, Shirzad answered to the criticism of the senator of Connecticut Chris Murphy, who stated on social media that Coinbase was one of the cogs in the “factory of corruption” of the American president Donald Trump through his contributions to the political action committee (PAC) Fairshake and the financing of the inauguration 2025.
The senator drew a direct correlation between the funding and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States. drop an enforcement action against Coinbase, which was filed during the previous administration.
In response to Murphy’s they claim that Trump had requested a “large donation from Coinbase for [his] ballroom,” Shirzad said the exchange was “proud to have supported the construction of a new ballroom through the Trust for the National Mall,” adding that several companies contributed to the fund.
Shirzad also took issue with the corruption claims, saying that Fairshake was a “non-partisan” PAC and that many public donations had supported previous inaugurations.
Trump initially announced the plan to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the White House grounds in July, later saying the project would cost about $200 million and would not “touch” the East Wing — the historic section of the building that houses the Office of the First Lady.
However, photos taken last week revealed that the East Wing had been completely demolished as part of the construction of the ballroom, now estimated at $350 million according to Trump.
“Note that we are not the general contractor, so we are not the right target if you are not happy with how the project is proceeding,” Shirzad said in response to Murphy.
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The two comments on social media came a few weeks after a Coinbase representative attended a fundraising dinner at the White House for the dance project. Other attendees included Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and a representative from Ripple Labs.
Coinbase refused to comment on questions from Cointelegraph regarding the amount that the exchange had contributed to the Trust for the National Mall or the demolition of the East Wing.
Greater presence for Coinbase in Washington under Trump?
The ballroom incident wasn’t the first time Coinbase’s financial involvement through projects backed by the Trump administration has drawn the company into the spotlight.
In June, the exchange was prominent displayed among the list of sponsors for a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States Army through a military parade held on Trump’s birthday. Coinbase’s involvement came through a one-time contribution to America250, a “non-partisan initiative” behind a series of events for the United States’ semiquincentennial.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase recently visited legislators in the middle of a shutdown of the US government – entering its 31st day on Friday – to discuss the legislation of the structure of the crypto market. Republican leadership expected the bill, titled the Responsible Financial Innovation Act in the US Senate, initially out of committee at the end of October.
As the shutdown continues with no end in sight, however, it is unclear whether a crypto project will be a priority in Congress.
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