Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal Strongly Criticizes US GAO Report About Crypto Concerns

Key Points:

• Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal challenges a GAO report expressing concerns about cryptocurrencies evading U.S. sanctions.
• Grewal criticizes the GAO for lacking in-depth analysis and targeting an industry that actively complies with legal frameworks.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Paul Grewal, has vehemently challenged a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, dismissing concerns raised about the use of cryptocurrencies to evade U.S. economic sanctions.

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Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal Challenges GAO Report on Crypto and Sanctions

The GAO report flagged instances where foreign states under U.S. sanctions allegedly exploited cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) to sidestep economic restrictions.

Grewal took to Twitter to criticize the GAO’s findings, pointing out a lack of thorough analysis and the absence of comparative studies. He argued that the GAO unfairly targeted an industry that invests substantial sums to comply with legal frameworks.

“Zero comparative analysis performed. Heck, zero analysis whatsoever performed. Instead, they harangue an industry that spends millions and millions to follow the law. Ask yourself—why?” Grewal questioned.

The Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal encouraged readers to scrutinize the report and highlighted buried admissions within clickbait links that digital assets are not an efficient means to evade sanctions. This, according to Grewal, indicated uncertainty within the U.S. GAO itself, asserting that the crypto industry shouldn’t shoulder the sole blame.

Expressing concerns about taxpayers’ money funding the GAO research, Grewal called it embarrassing for taxpayers to see their funds used for such shoddy work by the government. He bluntly declared, “That’s the smell of the people’s money being burned.”

Notably, Grewal’s statement coincides with Coinbase’s ongoing court battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC sued the crypto exchange in June last year for allegedly functioning as an unregistered national securities exchange, a claim strongly refuted by Coinbase, awaiting a judge’s ruling.