Coinbase CEO Withdraws Support for Crypto Bill Before Senate Vote
Brian Armstrong cited SEC authority, DeFi restrictions and limits on stablecoin rewards in the latest Senate draft.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew the company’s support for a major Senate crypto market-structure bill, citing concerns that the latest draft would expand Securities and Exchange Commission authority ahead of a planned committee vote.
Armstrong said the bill gives the SEC too much power and weakens the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s role in deciding which tokens fall under securities or commodities oversight. He also pointed to what he called a “defacto ban on tokenised equities” and restrictions affecting decentralized finance.
The proposal would bar companies from paying passive yield on users’ stablecoin holdings while allowing rewards tied to transactions, payments, transfers, remittances and liquidity provision in DeFi protocols. Armstrong objected to amendments that would further limit those rewards.
“We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill,” Armstrong wrote. He said the latest version would be materially worse than the current status quo, despite bipartisan efforts to reach an agreement.
The nearly 300-page Clarity Act is intended to establish federal rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC. The Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to begin voting on the bill and dozens of amendments Thursday, Jan. 15.
