Coinbase Now Lets Users Check Politician’s Crypto Friendliness

Publicly traded cryptocurrency firm Coinbase has integrated a ‘crypto scorecard’ on its app that ranks members of the U.S. Congress based on their crypto friendliness.

Coinbase, a popular American cryptocurrency exchange, has integrated a new feature on its platform which will allow its users to see which U.S. politicians are “crypto-friendly.” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced the news on Twitter, as companies ramp up their lobbying efforts ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. The objective of the feature is to educate users on the positions of politicians on cryptocurrencies, based on where they live. Armstrong said:

Starting today, Coinbase will begin integrating our crypto policy efforts right into our app. These will help our 103M verified users get educated on the crypto positions held by political leaders where they live.

The in-app feature shows how different members of Congress measure up on their “crypto sentiment,” ranging from “very positive” to “very negative.” As it stands, the feature focuses on the United States, but Coinbase plans to expand to more regions. The initiative also plans to help solicit donations from the community. Armstrong added:

Over time, we want to help pro-crypto candidates solicit donations from the crypto community (in crypto). We’ll also expand to get more geographic coverage in global elections, and add data on various candidates running for office (not just current elected officials).

The data presented on the feature comes from an organisation that Coinbase has supported, called the Crypto Action Network.

How The Scorecard Works

The scorecard published by Crypto Action Network takes publicly available statements and actions to grade politicians. Coinbase revealed that members are assigned positive or negative points based on their performance in each category, and the resulting total score determines their overall grade. Categories include:

• Sponsored and/or co-sponsored legislation;
• Positive or negative public statements; Selected cryptocurrency votes;
• Positive or negative cryptocurrency-related op-eds,
• Positive or negative cryptocurrency Congressional letters;
• Crypto-caucus membership;
• And their willingness to host crypto-focused events and accept crypto donations to their campaigns.

The feature is however only able to provide grades for half of the U.S Senate and less than a quarter of the U.S. House of Representatives “due to lack of action from members.”

Coinbase said:

The high number of incomplete grades demonstrates the need and the opportunity for more members of Congress to engage on cryptocurrency policy in the future,” adding, Congress needs to help secure our economic future by supporting crypto and the millions of Americans who are already investing in digital currencies. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.