Coinbase chief legal officer to transition to advisory role on July 31

Paul Grewal, who has served as Coinbase’s chief legal officer since 2020, announced that he would transition to an advisory role at the exchange starting on July 31.

In a Thursday X thread and LinkedIn post, Grewal said Coinbase’s legal vice presidents Molly Abraham and Ryan VanGrack would step into new roles as general counsel and vice chair, respectively, following his departure at the end of the month. Abraham said that she would “take the helm” at the exchange’s legal team.

Source: Paul Grewal

Whoever steps into Grewal’s shoes as the exchange’s next chief legal officer would likely have significant influence over crypto policy and regulation in the US. As CLO, Grewal led the exchange’s legal team through the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2023 enforcement action that alleged it had been operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.

Since the 2023 lawsuit, which was later dismissed under the Trump administration, Coinbase and its executives have established strong relationships with the White House and lawmakers favoring crypto policies. The company is one of the top contributors to the Fairshake political action committee (PAC), which funds media supporting politicians it considers “pro-crypto,” and CEO Brian Armstrong has met with US President Donald Trump in addition to advocating for crypto-related legislation in Congress. 

Related: CLARITY Act markup could happen as early as next week: Coinbase exec

Grewal added that he would announce a potential new position “in due course.” Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase for additional details on Grewal’s departure, but did not receive an immediate response.

Coinbase will continue to push for US crypto market structure

Many Coinbase executives, including Armstrong, have been pushing lawmakers in Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), which is expected to largely shift oversight and regulation of digital assets from the SEC to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The US Senate is on a state work period until Monday, when lawmakers will return and potentially take up a vote on the bill.

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