According to the author, Coinbase's sponsorship of political events, such as a military parade affiliated with President Trump, and Ripple's aggressive lobbying efforts represent a departure from crypto's original cypherpunk ideals. This could heighten regulatory scrutiny and undermine investor confidence, potentially leading to increased market volatility for cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH, as reflected in recent price declines where BTC fell 0.428% and ETH dropped 1.618%.