California Teams Up with Ripple & Coinbase in Groundbreaking Gov’t Blockchain Research Initiative

California just placed a big bet on crypto's future—and it's hedging with two of the industry's heaviest hitters.

The Golden State announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Ripple and Coinbase today, tasking the crypto giants with spearheading government blockchain research. No taxpayer dollars were harmed in the making of this initiative (probably).

Why this matters

When the fifth-largest economy in the world starts cozying up to digital assets, Wall Street's dinosaur banks better start sweating. California's move could become the blueprint for other states—assuming the SEC doesn't throw a regulatory wrench in the works first.

The fine print

Neither Ripple nor Coinbase disclosed financial terms, but you can bet your decentralized ledger there's more than just good PR at stake. The research will focus on real-world government use cases—think everything from land registries to stimulus payments (because writing paper checks is so 2020).

Bottom line: California's playing the long game here. While DC regulators keep playing whack-a-mole with crypto, the West Coast is building the future—one blockchain partnership at a time. Just don't expect them to accept your ape JPEGs as tax payments...yet.

Ripple, Coinbase, and Other Crypto Leaders Join Government Efforts

Crypto-friendly regulation is sweeping the country right now, and America’s largest state is certainly partaking in the trend. Last month alone, California voted to integrate digital assets into state payments and updated property rights concerning tokens, on top of other wins.

Today, the California Breakthrough Project is partnering with Coinbase, Ripple, and more to bring this vision to government efficiency:

“The Golden State continues to lead in efficiency, strategically implementing technologies and practices that make Californians’ lives better. As the birthplace of modern tech, our state is uniquely positioned to bring the best and the brightest together to advance our work. We will not shy away from progress, but embrace it for the benefit of all Californians, including our state workforce,” claimed California Governor Gavin Newsom.

So, what is the California Breakthrough Project? How is California planning to team up with Coinbase, a major crypto exchange?

Essentially, it aims to become a Democrat-led ersatz version of Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E., leveraging Web3 and blockchain technology to increase government efficiency.

Governor Newsom has been sympathetic to such a project for several months, but crypto firms like Coinbase and Ripple can help California realize it.

Alongside Web3-specific industries, other prominent tech companies like Anduril and Snap Inc., the proprietor of Snapchat, have joined the initiative. After all, California is the home of Silicon Valley and the US tech sector.

Newsom’s press release didn’t provide any specific commitments; it merely planned to use public-private partnerships and collaboration to look for Web3/AI/blockchain applications in government.

Still, California’s new task force has already met in Ripple’s San Francisco headquarters to explore this complicated issue.

However, this initiative may face pushback, especially considering D.O.G.E.’s widespread unpopularity. Furthermore, Democratic voters might not appreciate California’s new ties to Coinbase, which has previously been close to President Trump.

Case in point, San Francisco’s mayor just partnered with OpenAI to explore government efficiency, attracting similar criticism:

These circles are so small. Especially with Lurie and the TRUMP admin.

This is from January, peak Lurie transition, Sam Altman doing the same stuff with Trump, with Larry Ellison, Daniel Lurie's childhood nextdoor neighbor. https://t.co/cyMTEVNP0R pic.twitter.com/iHNYIbfjN6

All that is to say, certain Democrats’ crypto ties have come under scrutiny in recent weeks. California has an ambitious vision with Coinbase and Ripple, but it’s not clear how the Breakthrough Initiative will prove more successful than D.O.G.E.

Hopefully, this task force will find meaningful ways to implement new use cases for Web3 in local government.