Coinbase has announced it will terminate relationships with law firms that have hired former SEC officials who opposed cryptocurrencies. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, revealed this decision in a recent statement.

We've let all the law firms we work with know, that if they hire anyone who committed these bad deeds in the (soon to be) prior administration, we will no longer be a client of theirs.

Senior partners at these law firms seem unaware of the crypto industry's position on this.… https://t.co/k8R6NtfTV1 pic.twitter.com/RT0k408i9f
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) December 3, 2024

Armstrong criticized the actions of the SEC under the leadership of Gary Gensler as “unethical.” He suggested that officials disagreeing with the agency’s policies should have resigned.

“Attempting to unlawfully kill the industry by refusing to publish clear rules is unethical in my view. […] They had the opportunity to leave the SEC, and many good people did.”

The Coinbase CEO confirmed that the company had already severed ties with the law firm Milbank after it hired Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s former head of enforcement.

“[Crypto projects] should not put money into their pockets after their abuses. Let your law firms know that by hiring these people, they lose you as a client.”

Armstrong also referenced a post by Joshua Steinberg, former cybersecurity director at the NSC, who criticized the hiring of ex-SEC officials in a post on X. Steinberg stated that while such behavior occurs in every economic cycle, the current administration has shown extraordinary hostility toward crypto.

DEAR STARTUP FOUNDERS

The election is over. The future has been secured.

But the people who wanted to put Elon in jail, restrict for your AI model, keep funneling government contracts to the usual suspects, and more have one last trick:

They’re going to ask you for a job.

1/
— joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸) (@JoshuaSteinman) November 8, 2024

Steinberg emphasized the importance of holding individuals accountable for poor behavior and hiring team members who align with a company’s vision:

“This is about accountability for bad behavior—which I encourage in all scenarios—and ensuring your new team members share your vision.”

Coinbase’s Policy and Changes in SEC Leadership

In November, former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins was named the leading candidate to head the agency if Donald Trump’s administration takes office.