Leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has inked a new partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security. A report disclosed this news earlier today, noting the deal involves Coinbase developing technology for the agency. Reportedly, the agreement will see the San Francisco-based exchange net as much as $1.36 million (£0.99 million).
According to the report, the contract started on September 16, and Coinbase will deliver application development software for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division (ICE). For this work, the department will pay Coinbase $455,000 (£332,630.02). However, there is a possibility of the agency extending the contract to span three years. In this event, the exchange will get approximately $1.36 million (£0.99 million).
Per the publication, this is the second agreement between Coinbase and ICE. The first deal came in August when the agency offered Coinbase $30,000 (£21,934.95) to deliver computer forensics services. While this might seem like US agencies recognizing that firms in the crypto sector have something to offer, the crypto community did not receive this news well.
For instance, the Chief Strategy Officer at Human Rights Foundation, Alex Gladstein, pointed out that the amount Coinbase received in the deal was low. According to him, the exchange should have demanded a higher amount, seeing as the deal posed a reputation risk.
Like, this isn’t very much money for Coinbase in the grand scheme of things.
— Alex Gladstein 🌋 ⚡ (@gladstein) September 18, 2021
Strange that they would risk so much reputationally for such a relatively small sum.
Coinbase’s partnership with ICE brings it under fire
The news of Coinbase’s collaboration with ICE also renewed concerns about its acquisition of Neutrino, a blockchain analytics startup, in 2019. In the year, a
