{"id":12492,"date":"2026-01-15T06:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=12492"},"modified":"2026-01-15T06:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:20:32","slug":"coinbase-ceo-brian-armstrong-pulls-support-for-crypto-market-structure-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=12492","title":{"rendered":"Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pulls support for crypto market-structure bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Coinbase Global has pulled its support for the current version of the market-structure bill due for markup in the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are too many issues,\u201d Coinbase\u2019s Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong wrote in a post on X Wednesday, adding that \u201cthis version would be materially worse than the current status quo. We\u2019d rather have no bill than a bad bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coinbase has been at the forefront of the crypto industry\u2019s push for a market-structure bill \u2014 one that supporters say would improve the legitimacy of the asset class, while protecting it from a future anti-crypto presidential administration.<\/p>\n

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After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can\u2019t support the bill as written.<\/p>\n

There are too many issues, including:<\/p>\n

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\u2013 A defacto ban on tokenised equities
\u2013 DeFi prohibitions, giving the government unlimited access to your financial\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Armstrong said the current text of the bill has \u201ctoo many issues,\u201d such as its apparent ban on tokenised equities and restrictions on decentralized finance. He also cited \u201cerosion of the CFTC\u2019s authority\u201d and amendments that would end rewards on stablecoins that exchanges offer as reasons for pulling his support.<\/p>\n

Coinbase\u2019s new stance could potentially delay or even derail the market-structure bill. The crypto industry, including Coinbase, has been a big funder of congressional campaigns in the 2023-2024 election cycle.<\/p>\n

The House passed its own market-structure legislation last year, giving most of the responsibility for regulating digital assets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than the Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has said he believes many, if not most, digital assets should be regulated as commodities rather than securities.<\/p>\n

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Stablecoin rewards have been a key issue of contention in putting together the Senate Banking Committee\u2019s draft. While a law signed by President Donald Trump placed restrictions on stablecoin issuers on paying users yield on tokens sitting in their accounts, third parties like crypto exchanges have continued to pay it.<\/p>\n

Coinbase pays rewards to certain users holding the USDC stablecoin. That setup helps it keep more USDC on its platform, and that in turn helps the firm earn more from its revenue-sharing agreement with USDC issuer Circle Internet Group Inc. But the banking lobby said such rewards could end up draining deposits, especially at community banks.<\/p>\n

The latest Senate Banking proposal came after the Senate Agriculture Committee released a bipartisan bill with its version of the legislation. That draft left out key sections on DeFi and anti-money laundering as both parties continued to negotiate details. The Senate Banking Committee is planning to hold a markup on its version of the bill later this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an unwelcome development and there\u2019s a lot of factors that would go into this going forward both through the committee and markup this week and ultimately the senate floor,\u201d said Chris Hayes, a partner at Thorn Run Partners, referring to Armstrong\u2019s social-media post. \u201cAnd with the narrowing of the Senate calendar heading into midterm elections, that adds to the uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n

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