Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market has always been considered as the mavericks of the financial world, with money gurus claiming that it was just a distraction towards mainstream assets. This negative sentiment, however, did not stop the industry from beating expectations and creating a place for itself in today’s world.
The cryptocurrency world was rocked recently by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s company’s new policies on political involvement and discussion. Armstrong clarified that Coinbase will be focussed on building great products for the cryptocurrency space but will not delve into ongoing politics or “assume negative intent”.
Brian Armstrong’s statements were lauded by a lot of members of the cryptocurrency space with some even going as far as saying that he was the ‘Michael Jordan’ of the cryptocurrency space. In the latest Coinbase blog, Armstrong stated that he wanted the cryptocurrency exchange and its employees to be laser focussed on achieving its goals without commenting on the searing political issues ongoing in America.
The Coinbase CEO’s thoughts were challenged by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey who said that a cryptocurrency company should do its part in challenging the community, just like how Bitcoin challenges the financial system. Dorsey’s tweet read:
#Bitcoin (aka “crypto”) is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at *least* acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG
— jack (@jack) September 30, 2020
Jack’s views clashed with those of Armstrong’s, who reiterated on the fact that Coinbase would be a company first. This would be achieved by putting the company’s goals ahead of any particular team or individual goals. The Coinbase CEO was frank in mentioning that the company was going to emulate a ‘championship team’ model, where underperforming members will be replaced by others.
In the latest blog, Armstrong also underlined Coinbase’s key areas of focus: building great products, sourcing amazing talents, and creating fair talent practices. The company officials believed that keeping politics out of the company would enable everyone to feel like they were part of a single team. This did not stop Jack Dorsey from stating that companies should consider the real issues faced by people so that their inherent mission becomes more meaningful.