A crypto market structure bill that has been stuck for a long time is now advancing through Congress with fresh energy — and the chief executive of Coinbase believes it has the potential to transform the U.S. financial landscape.
On Wednesday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong voiced his backing for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, describing the bill as a “genuine middle ground” that weighs the crypto industry’s priorities against those of conventional banks. He added that the legislation is in the strongest position he has witnessed since talks first began.
In an interview with Fox News, Armstrong made these remarks as the Senate Banking Committee geared up to conduct its markup session for the CLARITY Act on May 14. This marks the first official committee-level vote on the bill in the Senate following months of holdups and two previously scrapped markup sessions.
Committee Chairman Tim Scott aims to bring the measure to a full Senate floor vote by June or July 2026, while the White House has set July 4 as the target date for the President to sign it into law.
A marathon legislative journey unfolds
The CLARITY Act — officially known as H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 — passed the House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, by a vote of 294–134, with all 216 House Republicans on board and 78 Democrats voting in favor.
After that, the bill remained before the Senate Banking Committee through two failed markup attempts, lengthy stablecoin talks, and an escalating lobbying battle between crypto companies and Wall Street banks.
At its heart, the legislation establishes a clear regulatory boundary between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
According to the bill, the CFTC would have sole authority over spot and cash markets for digital commodities, while the SEC keeps control over investment contract assets and primary market fundraising. Stablecoins are treated as their own category under joint oversight.
The Senate version grew beyond the House draft, expanding to nine sections covering decentralized finance safeguards, anti-illegal-finance measures, bankruptcy protections for crypto customers, and the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which shields software developers who release code without holding customer funds.
The standoff over stablecoin rewards
The most debated section of the bill involved stablecoin yield. Banks cautioned that letting crypto platforms offer rewards on stablecoin holdings could pull deposits away from traditional bank accounts and threaten their lending operations. Crypto companies, with Coinbase leading the effort, contended that limits would give banks an unfair edge and deny Americans access to new financial products.
The deadlock led to a deal worked out by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). As written in Section 404 of the bill, stablecoin issuers and related digital asset service providers are prohibited from paying yield on balances if that yield mirrors what a bank would offer as interest.
Rewards tied to actual activity — such as cashback on purchases, transaction-based incentives, and commerce-linked bonuses — are still allowed. Someone who simply holds a stablecoin without taking any action earns nothing.
Armstrong expressed his support once the compromise text was released publicly, and Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad stated the industry “secured what matters most.”
In his Fox Business appearance, Armstrong praised Senators Tillis, Alsobrooks, and their staffs for getting both parties to find common ground. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Senators Brooks and Tillis and their staff who worked tirelessly on this,” he said.
Armstrong described a financial sector rapidly embracing digital asset integration.
“I go around and I speak with lots of different bank CEOs, and many of them are just leaning into this as an opportunity to grow their business,” he said. “They’re integrating stablecoins as fast as they can.”
In April, over 100 crypto firms and trade groups — including the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association — sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee pressing them to move the bill forward, cautioning that further delays risk driving innovation and investment abroad.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that message, telling a Senate hearing the bill is vital to safeguarding the dollar’s place as the world’s reserve currency.
Thursday’s markup is not the end of the road. Should the Banking Committee pass the bill, it still needs to be reconciled with a version cleared by the Senate Agriculture Committee in a party-line 12–11 vote in January 2026.
A full Senate floor vote demands 60 votes, making Democratic backing a practical necessity, with an ongoing battle over ethics rules — particularly language related to President Trump and the Trump family’s cryptocurrency holdings — remaining the bill’s biggest remaining obstacle.
