Coinbase adds former Rep. Kendrick Meek as House tees up crypto vote

Former Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) is joining Coinbase’s global advisory council, the cryptocurrency trading giant first told The Hill.

Meek’s addition to the council comes ahead of the House vote on the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21). 

FIT21 would make major changes to the regulation of digital assets including crypto, notably expanding the jurisdiction of the Commodity Future Trading Commission to regulate most cryptocurrencies as commodities. While the bill received bipartisan support in the House Agriculture and Financial Services committees last summer, it will need Democratic support as it heads to the House floor later this month.

Meek represented Florida’s 17th Congressional District from 2003-11 and was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus. He also served as chair of the board of directors of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Coinbase estimates around 52 million Americans own crypto, with 41 percent identifying as “racially diverse.”

“As we work to address the compounding economic stressors of the traditional financial system, digital assets offer new opportunities to address the systemic issues that have plagued our financial system and failed too many Americans. And for Black and Hispanic Americans and other underserved communities, the need for a more equitable and inclusive financial system has never been more urgent,” Meek said.

The former congressman joins a star-studded council of Washington insiders. 

Last November, Coinbase added former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) and other policy heavyweights to the global advisory council, which launched last May. Its inaugural members included former Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.) and former Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). Maloney left the council earlier this year.

“I’m looking forward to using my seat on the Council to support American leadership in shaping the future of digital assets and building in protections for vulnerable communities,” Meek said.

Updated at 4:18 pm. EDT.