Former Clinton aide Chris Lehane expands his influence at crypto giant Coinbase

Chris Lehane, the leading Democratic strategist who worked for Bill Clinton and Al Gore before becoming one of the political world’s most influential players in tech, is joining the board of directors at Coinbase. The move is designed to bolster the bipartisan credentials of the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange as Republicans increasingly embrace the industry and its policy goals.

Lehane’s new role at Coinbase is part of a board expansion from seven members to 10, including chief executive Brian Armstrong, who holds a majority of the company’s voting shares. It comes as Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, try to court cryptocurrency support and donations this weekend at the three-day Bitcoin 2024 convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Coinbase is not participating in the Trump fundraiser.

The GOP’s bear hug of crypto is putting pressure on Democrats, after years of clashes between the industry and Biden administration regulators. Some crypto players are hopeful for a reset with Vice President Kamala Harris. The party’s leading crypto critics warn that the market poses big risks to consumers and the financial system.

In an interview, Lehane told POLITICO his board seat came from years of conversations with Coinbase’s leadership team about how to grow the brand’s trust while transitioning from a nonpartisan outfit to one that’s bipartisan. He pointed to the large share of crypto holders who identify as Democrats, including young people and people who voted for President Joe Biden.

Despite the focus on Trump warming to the industry, there’s also growing support from both parties in Washington to work on regulations, he said. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have taken up the mantle, and Schumer told POLITICO in an interview Thursday that he wants to pass crypto legislation this year.

“As we sit here right now, there are Democratic senators working with Republican colleagues on legislation in the Senate — there’s real hard work going on,” Lehane said. “And it’s pretty cool to see, particularly in a time period of polarization. I think it’s one of the unique aspects of this space: You can be an economic freedom person, maybe more libertarian or you can be me, an economic opportunity person. And you can see within digital assets how it can support a different type of financial system.”

Lehane also has advised the crypto industry’s big, new super PAC , which has played in several races as investors try to put their stamp on elections .

“As this space began transitioning, there was a need to begin to think about how they were going to engage in and play politics consistent with how it is played in this day and age,” Lehane said, crediting the super PAC for disclosing its donors and its motives.

“To their great credit, they’re for something and they’re for something that is anchored in values that you want to update the system, but, they’ve been out there actually offering solutions and doing the hard work and engaging in it,” Lehane said about the super PAC.

The PAC includes some donors who also are supporting Trump and Republicans.

The move onto the board is a natural one for Lehane, who planted his flag in tech years nearly a decade ago when he joined Airbnb as head of global policy and public affairs.

Lehane went on to become vice president of public works and a member of the executive team at OpenAI, but he’s also supported the campaign for crypto as part of Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council (alongside several other political veterans) and as chief strategy officer at Haun Ventures, the venture capital firm. He remains there as operating partner as well as at OpenAI.

Coinbase’s board oversees business affairs with the chief executive and other senior management to determine its strategy and mission. Also joining the board are Paul Clement, U.S. solicitor general under former President George W. Bush and a partner at the law firm Clement & Murphy, and Christa Davies, who has served as chief financial officer at the management consulting company Aon and as a board member for the payment processing firm Stripe and the system software outfit Workday.

Lehane, a Democratic adviser long known for his free-flowing ideas and pugnacious approach to political combat, worked extensively on marketing and the business models of large tech platforms and provides counsel on regulations and legal frameworks.

In a statement, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal referred to Lehane as “one of the foremost political and legal strategists of our time, and a leading voice in crypto’s growing political significance for both parties.”

“His counsel will be essential as Coinbase continues to engage stakeholders across party lines from all branches of government on the need for bipartisan, pro-crypto policies,” Grewal said.

When he started working in crypto a few years ago, Lehane met with dozens of elected Democrats in Washington and California and held salons at his San Francisco home. In those earlier days he hosted an event in Menlo Park with 20 or so leading players in the digital asset space and invited Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

John Anzalone, the veteran Democratic pollster who also sits on Coinbase’s advisory council, told POLITICO that Lehane has made big bets on new technologies — and each has paid off.

“He’s a trendsetter. He looks ahead. He’s a visionary. He moved out West when everyone thought D.C. was the power center, and that helped him establish himself,” Anzlone said, comparing Lehane to the hockey great Wayne Gretzky. (Lehane himself is quite fond of sports analogies.)

“He doesn’t go to the puck. He goes to where he thinks the puck is going to go,” Anzalone said.