PANews reported on August 2 that according to Cyptoslate, on July 30, cryptocurrency researcher Molly White accused Coinbase of possibly violating campaign finance rules by donating $25 million to the cryptocurrency super political action committee (PAC) Fairshake. According to researchers, the donation occurred during a period when the exchange was actively negotiating a federal government contract with the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS). The contract, assigned to Coinbase in July, requires a platform to provide custody and trading services for digital assets seized during law enforcement investigations. White noted that federal law prohibits entities involved in federal contracts from making political donations to prevent influence on the contract award process.

Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at Coinbase, called White's report misinformation. Grewal clarified that Coinbase is not a federal contractor under 11 CFR 115.1, and that the USMS did not pay the company with grant money. "Whether intentional or not, this is misinformation," he wrote. "Coinbase is not a federal contractor as expressly provided in 11 CFR 115.1. The USMS will not pay us with grant money - this was made clear in the public RFP." Grewal also shared some images showing that the aforementioned regulations define government contractors as entities paid with congressional appropriations. He explained that Coinbase's payments will come from the proceeds of seized assets, not USMS funds. Another image shared by Grewal reads, "All funds associated with this RFP will be drawn from the Asset Forfeiture Fund, which collects proceeds from the sale of seized property under the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture Program."