Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, publicly criticized U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy. The congressman accused the company of corruption related to President Donald Trump. Mr. Murphy claimed that Coinbase had donated $46 million to support Mr. Trump, hinting at political payoffs related to the SEC lawsuit against the exchange.
Murphy’s allegations spark strong rebuttal from Coinbase CLO
In a detailed post on X, Sen. Murphy outlined what he called an example of “Trump’s corruption factory.” He claimed that Coinbase was a major contributor to the Republican campaign and sent large donations to President Trump’s inauguration.
So the company benefited from President Trump’s alleged influence on regulators to drop the SEC lawsuit. The post quickly gained attention across the crypto and political communities. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal responded harshly, calling Murphy’s claims “misinformation” and “false.”
He urged Murphy to “do his homework” and emphasized that Coinbase has repeatedly called for regulatory clarity, not political favoritism. Meanwhile, the company has continued to expand its legal partnerships. One example is the recent collaboration between Coinbase and Citigroup to enable stablecoin payments.
The Coinbase CLO further stated that the real corruption lies not in Coinbase, but in the way the SEC handles cryptocurrency regulations. Grewal argued that the SEC allowed Coinbase to list in the “public interest,” only to later accuse the company of illegal operations.
“What was corrupt was letting us go public and then filing a lawsuit,” Grewal wrote. He added that the SEC’s denial of Coinbase’s rulemaking application was ruled “arbitrary and capricious” by a federal court. However, Coinbase recently partnered with Figment to power staking on the Solana, Cardano, and Sui networks.
This follows current President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly stance, allowing crypto companies to continue expanding their services to institutions. This move further strengthens our position as a compliant and growth-focused exchange.
Deaton highlights SEC bias
John Deaton, another lawyer who defended the interests of XRP owners in the Ripple lawsuit, also weighed in. He accused the SEC of hypocrisy, pointing out that after approving Coinbase’s IPO, the SEC found its business model illegal.
Deaton said the discrepancy highlights a broader problem of politically motivated regulatory inconsistency. The lawyer also accused former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler of following political orders to advance an “anti-cryptocurrency agenda.”
He also cited Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s tough stance on the industry. Deaton criticized Murphy for ignoring these issues while attacking Coinbase, saying such partisanship “puts politics ahead of American innovation.”
The exchange between Mr. Murphy, Mr. Grewal, and Mr. Deaton rekindled memories of the bitterness among crypto players during Mr. Gensler’s time as SEC chairman. However, since President Trump took over the Oval Office, there have been significant changes in a positive direction. One such positive was the dismissal of the SEC lawsuit against Coinbase.