Coinbase Faces Backlash Over ‘Tone-Deaf’ Sponsorship of US Army Parade

President Trump rolled out the U.S. Army in a military spectacle that drew thousands of attendees on Saturday and cost upwards of $45 million. As armed troops marched through Washington, D.C., a special acknowledgement echoed through the sound system, thanking crypto exchange Coinbase for sponsoring the event.

The moment has been viewed millions of times on X alone, with Coinbase facing considerable criticism from crypto users.

Peter Saddington, who claims to have bought Bitcoin as early as 2011, told Decrypt that he shook his head when he saw the now-viral video. He believes it betrays everything that crypto was founded on.

“It’s tone-deaf,” Saddington said. “They are focused on their shareholders and special interests over the core point of Bitcoin: human flourishing. To support war (or supporting mechanisms for war) is ridiculous. It’s like the cancer society promoting [tobacco giant] Philip Morris.”

Saddington isn’t alone. The Coinbase sponsorship was met with uproar across the industry, with Adam Cochran—a prominent crypto X personality and founder of investment firm Cinneamhain Ventures—claiming that he will exit all of his Coinbase positions as a result.

“I’ve been a Coinbase customer for over a decade now, and appreciate the early work they did in the space,” Cochran wrote on X. “But for now, it’s time for me to vote with my wallet and use alternatives that either align with my values or that can actually keep their ‘credibly neutral’ stance, instead of only applying it conveniently.”

In a 2020 blog penned by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, he claimed that the exchange would “focus minimally” on political causes, and would not “advocate for any particular cause or candidate” that is “unrelated” to its mission.

Whether a U.S. Army parade counts as “political” has received mixed reactions across social media since Saturday, though the loudest voices have been those who say it does.

Given President Trump’s severe rhetoric against political opponents, his own reported personal urging for the parade (which coincided with his birthday), the event contrasting with anti-Trump protests across the nation Saturday, and the military’s use across the globe in bloody conflicts, many crypto supporters see the sponsorship as breaking Armstrong’s pledge.

A spokesperson for Coinbase confirmed to Decrypt that the event shout-out came as the result of a one-time donation to America250, a year-long, non-partisan initiative looking to celebrate next year’s 250th anniversary of the United States.

Other America250 sponsors include soft drink giant Coca-Cola, investment bank Goldman Sachs, defense contractor and controversial data firm Palantir—which was also prominently displayed as a sponsor during the event. Due to the initiative’s stated non-partisan nature, the exchange does not believe it is breaking its previous apolitical pledge.

Coinbase was also among Trump’s biggest crypto donors once in office, laying down $1 million in the lead-up to the Republican’s inauguration event.

“Coinbase is probably just doing this to get more press and to stay on the good side of the U.S. government,” crypto influencer and Trump meme coin dinner attendee Nick Pinto told Decrypt. He added that the sponsorship is “probably part of a bigger plan,” before sharing theories that were more conspiratorial in nature.

Is Bitcoin anti-war?

Coinbase has faced pushback in part because some crypto backers believe that Bitcoin—the first and still most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap—is inherently anti-war in nature.

“Bitcoin is anti-war technology. You cannot afford to go to war when you cannot print infinite money,” he said, noting Bitcoin’s limited supply. “If Bitcoin companies support mechanisms, entities, and organizations that are part of any war machine, they have lost the plot.”

A country may debase its currency, or lower the value of it, by printing more to help fund a war. Most notably, this happened in Germany during World War 1 and resulted in post-war hyperinflation. Saddington argued that Satoshi Nakamoto’s famed Bitcoin white paper was a direct response to this issue, proposing a solution built to benefit humans that cannot be controlled by governments.

“The deeper-seated nuances are that fiat debasement ruins human flourishing. To keep countries going, they must expand not only the money supply, but also expand usage of the money,” he said. “War, as we know it, is the strong arm of monetary policy and in tandem supporting fiat hegemony. This is antithetical to the entire purpose of Bitcoin.”

“Fiat is a tool of war,” pseudonymous on-chain sleuth OkHotshot added. “Governments sanction countries with it. Satoshi protested against bank bailouts and government-controlled currency—armies are the final backbone of fiat.”

Of course, Coinbase is not Bitcoin. Rather, it is a company that supports trading for hundreds of cryptocurrencies, each designed with its own ethos and featuring a diverse community of supporters. Bitcoin is just one of those coins. And much has changed since Bitcoin was first launched over 16 years ago.

“Companies like Coinbase are part of this industry, and sometimes they work with big institutions and even support events like military anniversaries, just as other established companies do,” OkHotshot told Decrypt. “This shift is natural as crypto grows and looks to reach more people, even if it means the landscape looks a bit different than it did in the early days.”

For some crypto users, the sponsorship is a sign of the times. No longer is crypto an edgy counterculture filled with anti-establishment anarchists. Rather, the industry is getting into bed with governments, and America’s president is deeply intertwined with crypto.

This is no better exemplified by the U.S. creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve and a digital asset stockpile under President Trump, who has his own personal meme coin, NFTs, and other crypto projects—with his family also connected to multiple crypto initiatives.

“It’s becoming more than just an anti-government or anti-bank movement. Now it’s growing into something real, a new system for money that more people can actually use and trust,” Web3 marketer Ishita Pandey told Decrypt. “We’re seeing crypto move from rebellion to relevance. It’s no longer just about fighting the system, it’s about building something better alongside it.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward