- The agency has come under fire from the Trump administration.
- Brian Armstrong has celebrated that news, alongside Elon Musk.
Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong cheered the idea to shutter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“100% the right call,” Armstrong wrote in February. He was responding to a taunt by Elon Musk, who posted an image of a tombstone and the line “CFPB RIP.”
The agency was gutted by Donald Trump’s administration around the same time, to cheers by Armstrong and other crypto execs like Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini.
What Armstrong didn’t mention was that the CFPB had received 7,775 complaints from Coinbase customers since the exchange’s debut in 2011.
The most recent complaint to the CFPB was filed on February 22. The reports range from 1,734 complaints about issues with funds not being available when promised to 1,879 complaints about potential scams.
The CFPB was created — and championed by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren — more than a decade ago in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
It was intended to provide consumers a way to win back funds lost to scams while holding companies responsible for predatory business practices.
“The CFPB is unconstitutional on the face of it,” Armstrong continued. “And even if it wasn’t, it should be deleted as we already have [the] DOJ to prosecute fraud, and (many) other financial services regulators. It’s an activist organisation that has done enormous harm to the country.”
A community note on Armstrong’s tweet points out that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the CFPB’s constitutionality last year.
Coinbase, which declined to comment to DL News, came under fire in December for locking users out of accounts.
And a judge last month refused to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Coinbase in New York, which alleged that the firm illegally sold securities without registering as a broker-dealer, according to Reuters.
Coinbase told Reuters that it does not list, offer, or sell securities on its exchange, adding: “We look forward to vindicating the remaining claims in the district court.”
Limbo
The status of the CFPB remains in limbo. In February, acting director Russell Vought ordered a halt to all work at the agency — a sign any open cases related to consumer protection laws will be dropped.
In response, the National Treasury Employees Union has brought a suit against the administration over what it calls the “unlawful dismantling of the CFPB.”
In a recent filing, Coinbase warned investors about the impact CFPB policies and actions have, and could have, on its business.
“Market disruptions have led to certain attempts by consumer protection focused agencies, including the CFPB, to directly regulate the crypto industry,” Coinbase wrote.
Armstrong, who notched a win against the Securities and Exchange Commission when the agency dropped its lawsuit against the exchange, has expressed a dim view of regulation.
He’s a big backer of Fairshake, a crypto-backed political action committee that spent a record $41 million on pro-industry candidates in the 2024 election.
Robinhood
Armstrong’s stance contrasts, at least publicly, with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, who has said his retail stock and crypto exchange benefits from regulatory oversight.
Robinhood customers have logged some 2,028 complaints to the CFPB since the company’s debut in 2013. That’s about a quarter of those logged for rival Coinbase.
However, the complaint tallies broadly align with the companies' customer bases — Robinhood has about 24 million users, while Coinbase says it has more than 100 million.
Andrew Flanagan is a markets correspondent for DL News. Have a tip? Reach out to aflanagan@dlnews.com.