Twitter’s Jack Dorsey hits back at Coinbase apolitical workplace stance

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has criticized a letter published by Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), in which the U.S. digital currency exchange said it would not engage in “political and social distractions,” as it seeks to build a global, open financial system.

The position was set out by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, in which he said Coinbase would focus only on its core mission of developing the digital currency sector and infrastructure. It comes in stark contrast to the state position of Dorsey, who is often accused of favoring progressive political views on the Twitter platform.

In a tweet to his 4.7 million followers, Dorsey said not acknowledging and connecting to societal issues “leaves people behind.”

#Bitcoin (aka “crypto”) is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at *least* acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind: https://t.co/0LMlF1qcmG

— jack (@jack) September 30, 2020

In response, Armstrong tweeted back, saying the company is “political about one thing”—its “mission.”

https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1311727739087384576?s=20

Dorsey has long since been active in digital currency space. Yet his views met with strong opposition from the digital currency community, who largely sided with Armstrong in agreeing that a focus on the core mission was best.

Mike Solana of VCs Founders Firm said Dorsey was opposing a “corporate trend away from polarizing political statements and dramatic displays of culture war pageantry.”

Suggesting the apolitical approach was correct, Solana described Dorsey as “a man who makes hundreds of millions of dollars fueling political polarization.”

Similarly, Adam Draper, son of digital currency investor Tim Draper, welcomed the position from Coinbase.

“This is thought leadership. We get things done when we are all focused on a unified mission. Brian is Jordan in his prime right now. If anyone is selling shares of Coinbase, I’ll buy.”

Coinbase has said any employee who disagrees strongly with the new position is welcome to leave, with the offer of a six-month severance package.

“It’s always sad when we see teammates go, but it can also be what is best for them and the company.”

Now the only thing both Twitter and Coinbase need to get sorted out is that neither understands yet is that Bitcoin is BSV. The sooner they do, the sooner both CEO’s will be able to fulfill their corporate missions.