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The meteoric rise of the $2 trillion crypto industry is becoming a magnet for seasoned legal minds.
Paul Clement, the former solicitor general under the Bush administration and veteran Supreme Court attorney, is joining the board of directors at Coinbase, the U.S.’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has learned.
Clement, who’s known as one of the most formidable legal minds in the field, has a career that spans three decades with over 100 cases argued before the Supreme Court. His latest victory was the overturning of the High Court’s 1984 Chevron doctrine, a move that’s expected to greatly curtail the regulatory powers of federal agencies.
Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General and attorney representing the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and other petitioners, speaks to the press outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 2, 2019, in Washington, D.C. ((Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Coinbase is currently locked in three separate court battles with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Clement’s addition to the board is a sign the exchange is doubling down on its legal artillery.
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“Coinbase is the gold standard of crypto exchanges in no small part because they bring on the best and brightest talent at every level. Paul Clement is no exception,” former Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who sits on Coinbase’s global advisory board, told . “Adding one of the most formidable legal minds of our generation to their board shows Coinbase is doubling down on its fight for clear rules of the road for crypto.”
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Coinbase also counts Eugene Scalia, the former Labor Secretary and son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, as part of its legal team taking on the SEC.
Eugene Scalia served as Labor Secretary from 2019-2021 under the Trump administration. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images / Getty Images)
In his new role, Clement will advise Coinbase on its goal to help establish regulatory clarity for the crypto industry – which has been the subject of a regulatory crackdown from the SEC and a boxing out of the banking system by the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators.
Clement recently wrote an amicus brief on behalf of crypto bank Custodia, which is currently appealing a decision by a Wyoming district court that ruled the Fed had the authority to deny Custodia a master account, which would give it access to the central bank’s payment system.
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In his brief, Clement argued that giving the Fed unfettered power to deny state-chartered banks equal access to master accounts raises “serious constitutional questions” about the internal structure of the bank – where Fed presidents, who are considered independent from the government, make official decisions.
“Paul is one of the most highly respected members of the U.S. Supreme Court bar, and he currently has multiple legal ‘cruise missiles’ aimed squarely at federal regulators who have ignored the law in trying to kill the law-abiding U.S. crypto industry,” Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long told . “Multiple federal regulators are abusing their power, and Paul’s work provides a check on these abuses.”
Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long speaks during the Messari Mainnet summit in New York, on Sept. 21, 2023. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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In addition to Clement, Coinbase will also name Chris Lehane, a former Democratic consultant-turned-businessman, and Christa Davies, the outgoing financial chief at Aon, to the board, bringing its total number of board members from seven to 10.
