Coinbase’s sponsorship of the U.S. Army’s June 2025 parade sparked extensive debate within the cryptocurrency community about crypto’s alleged departure from its anti-establishment and decentralization principles.

Quotes that support claims

Crypto emerged from ideals of decentralisation, individual sovereignty, and freedom from oppressive state control — not to funnel resources into institutions whose core purpose involves violence and ending lives.

Coinbase’s sponsorship has, therefore, rightly sparked a debate about whether crypto has lost its way. As Felix Jauvin, director and host of the Forward Guidance podcast, wrote on X: 'Bros I don’t think crypto is a counter culture movement anymore.'