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Crypto Industry Leaders Speak-Out
Letter From Concerned Customers, Collaborators, Cohorts of Coinbase
(Sent to Coinbase on 11/1/20)
>>> BackGround
* Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Blog Posts *
Sep 27, 2020: Coinbase is a mission focused company by Brian Armstrong
(Edited by Coinbase to remove the name of Breonna Taylor in the first paragraph)
September 29: (Leaked email) Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told employees in an internal email Wednesday that anyone who is not on board with his anti corporate activism policy would be offered a "generous" severance package.
October 8, 2020: A follow up to Coinbase being a mission focused company by Brian Armstrong
November 25, 2020: Coinbase’s Statement Regarding NYT Article
* Internal Workplace Incidents at Coinbase *
Allegations of Discrimination:
NY Times Article: ‘Tokenized’: Inside Black Workers’ Struggles at the King of Crypto Start-Ups
Excerpt: But according to 23 current and former Coinbase employees, five of whom spoke on the record, as well as internal documents and recordings of conversations, the start-up has long struggled with its management of Black employees. One Black employee said her manager suggested in front of colleagues that she was dealing drugs and carrying a gun, trading on racist stereotypes. Another said a co-worker at a recruiting meeting broadly described Black employees as less capable. Still another said managers spoke down to her and her Black colleagues, adding that they were passed over for promotions in favor of less experienced white employees.
The accumulation of incidents, they said, led to the wave of departures. “It was the first time I realized what racism felt like in the modern world,” said Layllen Sawyerr, a compliance analyst who is Black. “I felt like I was being bullied every day at work.” She said she filed a discrimination complaint with Coinbase’s legal department before quitting in 2018.
2019 Bathroomgate:
Business Insider Article: An incident known as 'bathroomgate' left some Coinbase employees feeling 'targeted,' say former workers.
Excerpt: Last year, Coinbase removed signs on office bathrooms indicating that employees should use the bathroom where they feel most comfortable, a symbol of trans inclusion. The signs were unmissable. They hung next to the doors of office bathrooms at Coinbase and in bold letters said, "Coinbase recognizes that gender is not binary. You are free and safe to use whichever bathroom is most comfortable for you."
The bathroom signs were hung shortly after the company moved into a new 18-floor office on San Francisco's Pine Street. An employee resource group for LGBTQ+ employees and their allies used the move as an opportunity to make the building more inclusive for trans employees, the former employees told us. Executives at the company allegedly explained their decision by saying the bathroom signage did not align with the "brand identity," according to one former employee. "I just felt like it was in poor taste," this person said.
June 2020 Black Lives Matter incident:
Wired: The Turmoil Over ‘Black Lives Matter’ and Political Speech at Coinbase
Excerpt: In early June, a week after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, employees at Coinbase gathered, virtually, for an emotional meeting. In the previous few days, mirroring workplaces elsewhere, the company’s Slack channels had been filled with comments about the nationwide protests and demands for more support for Black employees. In the background hovered a specific question: Would Coinbase and its CEO, Brian Armstrong, make a public statement about Black Lives Matter and the racial justice movement, as so many Silicon Valley companies had? In an earlier email, Armstrong had told employees that he was hurting along with his employees, but stopped short of that commitment.
Leaked Audio of Oct 1, 2020 Coinbase Meeting:
Vice: Coinbase’s New ‘Direction’ Is Censorship, Leaked Audio Reveals
Excerpt: An internal all-hands meeting obtained by Motherboard shows Coinbase management was accused of "stunting internal discussion" and that it forced employees to delete political Slack messages.
* Other News Coverage *
Video: “The Coinbase Quandary: Race in Silicon Valley” panel during DC Fintech Week
The Block: Coinbase is looking to hire someone to lead its internal diversity efforts
Cointelegraph: Coinbase CEO prompts furious accusations of hypocrisy as he pushes political misinformation
Forbes: Before Going Apolitical, Coinbase Sponsored Diversity And Inclusion On Capitol Hill
Business Insider: Coinbase wants to go public. Its CEO needs to change his leadership style first, insiders say
SF Chronicle: Silicon Valley companies are rethinking free speech at the office
Business Insider: Employees felt Coinbase was never a political place, until Armstrong made it one.
Motherboard: Coinbase Is Showing Workers With a Conscience the Door
Quartz: Coinbase employees are quitting their newly “apolitical” workplace
CoinDesk: Coinbase’s ‘Mission’ Violates the Spirit of Bitcoin
TechCrunch: Brian Armstrong’s new problem: 60-plus free agents
Wash Post: Silicon Valley is famously liberal. Then, investors and employees started clashing over race
* CONTACT *
For more information, contact Cleve@myLOGOS.io