Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reversed course and publicly endorsed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, backing legislation he had twice rejected earlier this year.
Armstrong's CLARITY Act Reversal
Armstrong posted on X that it was time to pass the bill, responding to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging Congress to act.
"Grateful for all the bipartisan work among Senators and staff over the past several months to make this a strong bill," Armstrong wrote.
The endorsement marks a sharp turn.
In January, Armstrong withdrew Coinbase's support hours before a Senate Banking Committee markup, calling the draft "materially worse than the current regulatory status quo."
He rejected a revised version again on Mar. 25, citing restrictions on stablecoin yield payments — a revenue stream worth $1.35B to Coinbase in 2025.
Bessent, in his op-ed, warned that the United States risks falling behind jurisdictions like Abu Dhabi and Singapore that already have clear rules for digital assets.
"There is one way to give developers and entrepreneurs the comfort to reshore: durable law," he said. He also tied the CLARITY Act to the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin framework President Donald Trump signed into law in Jul. 2025. SEC Chair Paul Atkins backed the push as well, posting on X that Congress should advance the legislation to Trump's desk.
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Crypto Industry's Divided Path to CLARITY
Armstrong's opposition had fractured the industry. When he pulled support in January, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) publicly disagreed and continued backing the bill. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called the CLARITY Act a "massive step forward."
BitGo founder Mike Belshe was more blunt, saying both sides should stop relitigating the GENIUS Act and get the market structure bill done. Banks, led by the American Bankers Association, took the opposite position, arguing that stablecoin rewards would drain deposits from traditional institutions.
The standoff stretched through February and March.
Armstrong described negotiations as "constructive" at a Mar-a-Lago forum in February but stopped short of re-endorsing the bill.
A compromise brokered by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks on stablecoin yield language, combined with a White House economic report estimating a full yield ban would cost consumers $800M annually, appears to have cleared the path.
The CLARITY Act passed the House in Jul. 2025 with a 294-134 vote but has stalled twice in the Senate since January. With lawmakers returning from recess on Apr. 13, the Banking Committee markup could come as early as late April — the last realistic window before midterm campaigns consume the legislative calendar.
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