FILE PHOTO: Smartphone with displayed Coinbase logo and representation of cryptocurrencies are placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
NASHVILLE (Reuters) - U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has added three new members to its board of directors, including an executive from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, as the company steps up its efforts to sway U.S. crypto policy, Coinbase told Reuters on Thursday.
The new members are Chris Lehane, a member of the executive team at OpenAI; Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General under President George W. Bush; and Christa Davies, chief financial officer for Aon and a board member for Stripe and Workday. The additions will expand the board from seven to 10.
Coinbase's move to expand its board comes as the company and cryptocurrency industry more broadly aims to make the industry a major political force in this year's presidential election. The industry's fortunes could shift if Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump wins back the White House in November.
Clement will advise Coinbase's efforts to "to push back against the SEC's (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's) overreach and fight for clear rules of the road for digital assets."
Lehane, former policy chief for Airbnb who was also a member of the Clinton White House, will provide strategic counsel, Coinbase said.
Davies will focus on Coinbase's "financial and operational excellence on a global scale."
Coinbase said the three members all hold different political philosophies.
"For crypto to succeed, it needs to be bipartisan," Lehane told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Coinbase-backed Stand With Crypto, an advocacy organization for voters who own crypto, has amassed 1.3 million members.
Meanwhile, three major pro-crypto super political action committees - Fairshake, Defend American Jobs, and Protect Progress, all of which did not exist until this cycle - have raised over $230 million to support friendly candidates.
(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly in Nashville; Editing by Michelle Price and Chizu Nomiyama)
