A crypto CEO’s warning to law firms 

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When Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong speaks, the crypto trade tends to hear.

His latest X-post jogged my memory of what Twisted Sister first sang in 1984: “We’re not gonna take it anymore.” (I solely discovered this years later, after I used to be born).

If you have not seen it, this is the submit:

You see, Armstrong made the hiring of Gurbir Grewal, who had been the SEC’s enforcement division director since 2021. He left the agency in October and joined the litigation and arbitration group at Milbank LLP later that month.

The legislation agency acknowledged in a press launch that the fee has taken greater than 2,400 enforcement actions throughout Grewal’s tenure, together with “greater than 100 enforcement actions to deal with noncompliance within the crypto area.”

A spokesperson for Milbank didn’t return my request for remark.

Regardless of what the X-post may counsel, an individual conversant in the matter clarified that Milbank by no means really labored for Coinbase.

You may additionally recall that McGuireWoods employed David Hirsch, former head of the SEC’s crypto belongings and cyber unit, in August. Coinbase’s relationship with that firm is unclear, and a McGuireWoods consultant didn’t instantly remark.

Armstrong’s submit was meant to start out a dialog and supply some transparency into how the publicly traded crypto alternate thinks about this.

Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief authorized officer, advised me that not all legislation agency leaders hold a detailed eye on crypto and will not perceive how “deeply private” the SEC’s enforcement actions felt to trade gamers.

“This was extra than simply, we now have an excellent religion disagreement in regards to the legislation, so let’s resolve this amicably,” he stated. “For 3 and a half years I felt like this trade was below assault [and] unfairly attacked.”

After all, firms can rent whoever they need. However the level is that Coinbase (and others) also can select who they work with.

Armstrong’s submit “did get the eye of individuals within the authorized neighborhood at giant,” Grewal famous. We’ll see if this makes any change in any respect in who firms need to rent. Both method, the message has been despatched.