Coinbase Sets Up Political Action Committee, Whilelisted By Facebook

Brian Amstrong, the CEO of Coinbase – the largest crypto broker in the US – announced that it has been whitelisted by Facebook. This means Coinbase will not face any restrictions while posting ads on Facebook.

Furthermore, the company is establishing a political action committee (PAC) with plans to raise funds and spend it during US elections.

It can be remembered that on 31st January 2018, the biggest social media platform in the world announced a change to their advertisement policy. The new policy clearly stated that advertisements related to binary options, cryptocurrencies, and ICO are mostly deceptive, leading to a huge loss to investors. Considering the safety of platform users and investors in general, Facebook said it is implementing a blanket ban on the advertisement of aforesaid financial products.

On June 26, Facebook announced its revised policy, which permitted placing cryptocurrency ads, subject to certain terms and conditions. However, the ban on ICOs still remains in place. For placing cryptocurrency ads a formal application needs to be submitted along with documents such as company license, or records of stock exchange listing, if any, along with company’s background record, which is available for public view.

Now, the approval given for Coinbase ads will give greater exposure of the latter’s platform and boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the US. The approval also permits ads to be placed on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and even Audience Network, a third-party firm, specialized in placing Facebook ads on other platforms.

Notably, speculation was rife earlier this month that Facebook is going to acquire Coinbase. However, it took a different turn when David Marcus, head of Messenger, clarified that the duo have set up a small focus group that will explore the best way to use blockchain on the social media platform.

In other news, the Federal Election Commission has revealed that Coinbase has set up a political action committee (PAC).

According to the filings, the PAC has been allotted ID: C00680355, with status “NONQUALIFIED – UNAUTHORIZED”. The status refers to committees which are not qualified for multicandidate status. This means the PAC, as of date, don’t have any kind of restrictions on contributions per candidate.
To receive a multicandidate status, a nonqualified committee must:
1. Remain registered with the FEC for a minimum period of six months.
2. Receive donations from a minimum of 51 persons.
3. Donate to at least five federal candidates, which Coinbase may not find difficult to achieve.

The filings also reveal that PAC hasn’t received or donated any money as on June 30, 2018. The stipulated contribution size is $200 and lower.

Another important thing to note is that Coinbase has filed the first statement of organization (FEC Form 1) on June 4. This indicates that the company had been planning this for a considerable period of time. The first application, however, was unable to clear the Commission’s preliminary review as it was unsuccessful in identifying the nature of connected organization Coinbase was establishing the PAC with. Coinbase filed its second application on July 10 and it got approved.