Coinbase adds former top Obama and Harris adviser Plouffe as it broadens its political reach

WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior adviser to Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign is joining Coinbase’s global advisory council, which already includes several former U.S. senators and Donald Trump’s ex-campaign manager, as the cryptocurrency exchange broadens its political reach.

David Plouffe, a top Democratic strategist best known as an architect of Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign, is the latest addition to the council, joining as the cryptocurrency industry plays an increasingly prominent role in shaping fast-moving legislation in Congress.

The legislation aims to create a comprehensive framework for the regulation of digital assets and comes amid a shift in Washington. President Trump, a Republican, has pledged to make the U.S. the global capital of cryptocurrency, contrasting with what industry leaders viewed as a stifling regulatory approach under the previous Democratic administration.

Trump and his family have also been aggressively expanding their personal business into almost every part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, including raising billions of dollars to buy bitcoin, creating a new stablecoin and launching and promoting a Trump-themed meme coin.

Chris LaCivita, the former co-campaign manager of Trump’s successful 2024 presidential bid, joined Coinbase’s advisory council in January. Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent from Arizona, also joined the council, which consists of a number of other high-profile figures from both major political parties.

Plouffe previously served on the global advisory board for Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, before joining Harris’ presidential campaign as a senior adviser in August.

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, described the role of the advisers as being a “sound board” to discuss policy efforts and business strategy.

In Congress, legislation is advancing far more quickly than usual for a new industry — a pace that some involved in shaping the bills say comes amid an all-out pressure campaign from the cryptocurrency sector.

On Wednesday, a group of Democrats joined the Republican majority to advance legislation regulating stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. Final passage through the Senate could come next week.

Meanwhile, a more sweeping bill to implement cryptocurrency market structure has begun moving through House committees.