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Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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Coinbase is pushing back on the allegations of Senator Chris Murphy, who accused the cryptocurrency exchange of participating in what he described as President Donald Trump’s “corruption factory.”
The senator’s comments follow reports that Coinbase contributed to Trump’s inauguration and the construction of a new White House ballroom.
In a post on X earlier this week, Murphy claimed that the crypto exchange’s donations were part of a broader pattern of political favors.
“Here is an example of how the Trump corruption factory works,” he wrote.
He cited several examples, such as Coinbase putting $46M into the election to help Trump’s allies, sending him a huge check for his inauguration, Trump dropping the SEC lawsuit against Coinbase, and then Trump asking for a large donation from Coinbase for a ballroom.
Was Senator Murphy wrong about Trump’s donation of Coinbase?
Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer, Faryar Shirzad, publicly rejected the accusation, calling the senator’s claims “ridiculous.” answer directly on X, Shirzad said Murphy’s statement “ignored the basic facts” and outlined Coinbase’s version of events.
“Fairshake is a non-partisan super PAC,” Shirzad wrote, referring to the political action committee funded by several crypto companies, including Coinbase.
“Have your staff look for public disclosures, and you’ll see that Fairshake has supported several Democrats, including three of your new Senate colleagues.”
He added that the PAC’s funding followed all campaign finance laws and was consistent with longstanding practice, noting that “Presidential Inaugural Committees for decades, from Obama to Biden to Trump and before, have been supported by public donations.”
According to White House disclosures, Coinbase, Kraken, and circle each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, while Robinhood contributed $2 million.
Coinbase defends donation as lawmakers demand answers
Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer of Coinbase, also addressed the senator’s claims regarding the White House ballroom project, saying that Coinbase’s donation was part of a broad corporate effort to support a federally recognized public project.
“We are proud to have supported the construction of a new ballroom through the Trust for the National Mall, a 501(c)(3) partner of the National Park Service,” he wrote.
“Companies from all industries have also donated. Note that we are not the general contractor, so we are not the right target if you are not satisfied with how the project is proceeding.”
The White House has he said the ballroom, expected to cost about $300 million, has been privately financed and will not draw on taxpayer money.
According to the official list of donors, Coinbase contributed in the effort alongside other major companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta, as well as crypto companies including Ripple, Kraken, Circle and Tether.
In particular, on October 30, the legislators led by Senator Adam Schiff asked a full accounting of all contributions, citing potential conflicts of interest.
Senate Democrats Prove Trump’s Crypto Connections After Coinbase Case Closes
Shirzad also addressed Murphy’s claim that Coinbase’s donations were tied to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to drop its enforcement action against the exchange.
The SEC sued Coinbase in 2023 for operating as an unregistered securities exchange and for matters related to its staking program.
The case was fall in February 2025 under new SEC leadershipa move widely seen as showing a change in Washington’s approach to crypto regulation.
“The SEC lawsuits against Coinbase and dozens of other companies were part of a grotesque pattern of bullying and abuse of power by the previous chair,” Shirzad said, adding that the SEC’s current decision “was the right decision on the merits.”
The regulator has too dropped or paused their cases against other companies like Ripple Labs, Kraken, Gemini, Consensys, Robinhood, and Yuga Labs.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have stepped up scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with the crypto industry, particularly following his recent pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
Lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, have blamed Trump of granting favors to wealthy crypto executives.
The controversy prompted Representative Ro Khanna to propose legislation that would ban elected officials from owning or launching cryptocurrencies.
Binance’s US affiliate has also faced allegations of political favoritism, along with Murphy they suggest the company’s recent listing of the USD1 stablecoin was linked to Zhao’s pardon. Binance.US denied the claim, saying that the list was approved as part of their “ordinary course of business”.
Coinbase’s response also came amid renewed attention to the company’s political influence.
During the 2024 election cycle, Coinbase and other crypto companies contributed more than $45 million to the Fairshake PAC, which has spent more than $40 million supporting pro-crypto candidates in both parties.
The Center for Political Responsibility reported in March that the crypto industry spent more than $134 million on the 2024 elections, a sharp increase from previous cycles.
