Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal has denied accusations that his crypto exchange violated campaign financing laws by making a $25 million donation to a super political action committee (PAC) in May 2024.

In a July 31 report, prominent crypto skeptic Molly White claimed that Coinbase “appears” to have violated campaign finance laws by making a donation to the Fairshake crypto super PAC while it was engaged in active negotiations for a federal government contract.

Grewal rebuked these claims in an Aug. 1 post to X, saying that Coinbase was not a federal contractor under the “plain language” clause of Code of Federal Regulations 111.51.

“USMS isn’t paying us with appropriated funds—something it made clear in the public [request for proposal],” Grewal said.

“Whether intentional or not this is misinformation.”

David Chung, the founding director at Creo Legal told Cointelegraph that White's allegations were misplaced and that Grewal's assessment of the matter held up under legal scrutiny.

"The allegation made by Molly White is inaccurate."

Chuing said the federal contract awarded to Coinbase is funded from the Assets Forfeiture Fund and not from funds appropriated by Congress.

Additionally, he explained the Assets Forfeiture Fund is managed by the Department of Justice and contains the proceeds of the sale of assets, such as money and property, seized through law enforcement activities.

"For this reason, Coinbase is not a ‘federal contractor’ for the purposes of the law which prohibits such persons from making contributions to political entities, including super PACs such as Fairshake," Chung noted. "This is different from funds appropriated by Congress from the US Treasury which is sourced from federal taxes and other sources."

Coinbase donated $5 million to the Fairshake super PAC in November 2023, $15.5 million in December 2023, and $25 million on May 30, 2024.

White claimed that with Coinbase’s request for proposal issued on March 4, 2024 and a contract that ended “no sooner” than June 30, 2025, combined with the $25 million contribution on May 30, the donation fell “well within” the prohibited period for contributions.

Related: Coinbase shares rise 3% as Q2 crypto trading doubles from last year

Government affairs lobbyist Craigh Holman told White it was “illegal for a federal contractor to make a campaign contribution to any federal committee, including a super PAC,” adding that it would be appropriate to file a complaint with the FEC.

However, in a follow-up comment on X, Grewal said all funds associated with the request for proposal had been paid out of the Assets Forfeiture Fund, which receives proceeds from the sale of property forfeited to the US government under the purview of the Department of Justice.

According to its website, the Fairshake Super PAC aims to achieve its goals by “providing blockchain innovators the ability to develop their networks under a clearer regulatory and legal framework.”

Notably, the Fairshake crypto super PAC has raised over $202 million this year and features a litany of crypto’s largest firms as donors, including Coinbase. It currently stands as the largest super PAC of the 2024 election.

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