Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the latest U.S. crypto market structure bill has reached its strongest position yet, giving the industry a clearer path into this week’s Senate Banking Committee markup.
Armstrong told Fox Business that the Clarity Act now reflects a “true compromise” after months of negotiations between crypto firms, banks, lawmakers, and Senate staff. The comment marks a major shift from earlier tensions over stablecoin rewards, banking concerns, DeFi treatment, and software developer protections.
It’s in the best place we’ve seen so far,” Armstrong said, adding that Coinbase is “ready to support a markup later this week.
The Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on Thursday, May 14, at 10:30 a.m. ET. A markup would not send the bill directly to the president’s desk. It is a committee step that allows lawmakers to debate, amend, and vote on whether to advance the measure toward the full Senate.
Stablecoin Rewards Remain Central To The Deal
Stablecoin rewards have been one of the main pressure points in the negotiations. Banks have warned that yield-like programs could pull deposits away from the regulated banking system, while crypto companies have argued that a broad ban would hurt payments innovation and competition.
Armstrong said the latest language meets key concerns from the bank lobby and the Senate by limiting rewards to accounts with “some sort of material activity.” That framing attempts to separate payment-linked incentives from idle stablecoin balances that resemble bank deposits.
Reuters reported that the bill would ban rewards on idle balances of dollar-backed stablecoins while allowing rewards tied to transaction-based activity, such as stablecoin payments. The SEC, CFTC, and Treasury would be required to write joint implementation rules for that section.
That compromise gives both sides something to claim. Banks retain language aimed at deposit-flight risk, while crypto platforms preserve room for rewards tied to actual payments, settlement, and customer activity.
Bill Would Split Oversight And Tighten Compliance
The Clarity Act is designed to create a broader framework for digital assets by clarifying when tokens and platforms fall under SEC or CFTC oversight. The bill also includes anti-money laundering provisions that would treat digital commodity exchanges, brokers, and dealers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act.
That would push crypto intermediaries closer to bank-style compliance duties around customer identification, due diligence, suspicious activity reporting, and transaction monitoring. DeFi is also addressed through rules that would determine when a platform is sufficiently decentralized and when control rights, blocking powers, or special permissions pull it into financial-institution treatment.
Tokenization is another major section. The bill would clarify that putting stocks, bonds, or other securities on a blockchain does not remove them from securities laws. Tokenized securities would generally be treated like the underlying securities they represent.
Armstrong tied the bill to a broader shift in financial infrastructure, saying, “It’s just going to make everything more efficient in the financial system.” He also pointed to banks integrating stablecoins and digital asset services as customer demand grows.
The markup is now the first concrete test. If the bill advances, the next focus will be Democratic support, possible amendments, and whether Senate leadership can build the 60-vote path needed for floor passage.
