Coinbase has recently struck a multi-billion dollar contract with the US government. The contract with the Department of Homeland Security is worth $1.4 million. Also, this is the largest contract Coinbase has ever signed.
In regards to the terms and conditions of the contract, Coinbase agreed to offer its application development software to be used by the US government to analyze the data of its citizens.
There have been concerns that the relationship between Coinbase and the government is getting closer. This is not the first contract they have secured with the government. In August 2021, ICE selected CoinBase to provide computer forensic services.
The latest contract will start on September 16 and end after 12 months. According to some sources, the contract might extend to 2024.
Strange Acquisition by Coinbase
The announcement of the contract between CoinBase and the government stirred up negative memories on social media. This concerns an acquisition made by CoinBase two years ago.
In 2019, Coinbase acquired Neutrino, a company that has enabled them to perform blockchain analytics. After the acquisition, Coin Base faced accusations of poor due diligence since the company links with repressive regimes. Official statements linked the people behind the Neutrino Company to a hacking team working with dictators to spy on journalists.
The fact that the same bizarre company has enabled Coinbase to acquire the government contract raises eyebrows in the cryptocurrency world.
A Controversial Relationship Between Coinbase and US Government
The relationship between CoinBase and the government has received a massive backlash on social media. However, Armstrong, the CEO of Coin Base, does not seem to regret their lucrative relationship with the government. He assured their investors that the services to the government are for the benefit and growth of the company. He also stated that they do not rely on any other data, apart from the details available on their website.
Armstrong passed this message through a Twitter post later deleted due to numerous negative comments and criticism.
Many private individuals disagree with the kind of contracts CoinBase is getting into and especially with the law enforcer. Some individuals have gone further to accuse them of tracking customer transactions and selling both private and public data to the government.
Coinbase, on the other hand, continues to assure its customers that their private data is treated with confidentiality and handled separately from the analytics tools. Therefore, there is no need to cause alarm.
Regulatory Pressure Mounts on Stablecoins
Regulatory pressure continues to build up around the cryptocurrency market in the United States. As a result, there have been many scrutinies, and policymakers are constantly looking into the agendas of stablecoins.
Following results from reliable sources, the regulatory officials are coming up with policies around the crypto market. And they will release them in the coming weeks. The regulatory bodies are looking to ensure that investors can move money in and out of the tokens in a reliable manner.
The insiders in the cryptocurrency market are worried about this regulatory pressure. There are fears that it will affect the market’s stability and that some stable coins might increase faster than they should.