Coinbase CEO Sees Strong Odds for Crypto Market Structure Bill in U.S. Congress

Quick Breakdown: 

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong signals strong bipartisan momentum for the U.S. crypto market structure bill.
• The legislation aims to define regulatory authority over digital assets, especially beyond stablecoins.
• Lawmakers also resist banking industry pressure to restrict yield-bearing stablecoins.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expressed optimism this week that key crypto legislation in the United States has a “good chance” of advancing after gaining broad bipartisan support in the Senate. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act aims to clearly define the regulatory responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and other agencies overseeing digital assets, particularly non-stablecoins such as tokenized stocks.

Bipartisan support gathers momentum

Armstrong said after several days of meetings with lawmakers that support for the bill is stronger than at any point in recent years. “The Senate is strongly supportive of getting this done; the members I met with on both sides of the aisle are ready to get this legislation passed,” he noted in a video message posted on X. The draft legislation is currently being refined before moving to industry participants for feedback.

Calling the effort a “freight train leaving the station,” Armstrong argued the bill will give crypto firms confidence to build in the U.S. while protecting consumers and reducing regulatory overreach. He also took aim at SEC Chair Gary Gensler, saying the legislation would ensure

“we never have another Gary Gensler trying to take your rights.”

I was in DC the last few days working to get MARKET STRUCTURE legislation passed for crypto. This is how we ensure the crypto industry can be built here in America, driving innovation and protecting consumers, and making sure we never have another Gary Gensler trying to take your… pic.twitter.com/UqCH8jCNU8

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 18, 2025

Industry leaders join push

Executives from Ripple, Kraken, Circle, Cardano, and venture capital firms, including a16z, Paradigm, and Multicoin Capital, also attended the discussions. Kraken CEO Arjun Sethi said his remarks centered on ensuring the legislation supports crypto builders, not just incumbents.

“The real fight is bigger: protecting the right to build protocols, chains, memes, tokenized equities, commodities, utilities, etc.,”

Sethi said.

Armstrong added that lawmakers were also firm in rejecting the banking industry’s recent attempt to restrict interest-bearing stablecoins. Banks had argued that yield-bearing stablecoins could undermine deposit-driven lending models, but Armstrong said Congress would not allow such limits.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has completed its acquisition of Deribit, the world’s leading crypto options exchange. Deribit, which handled more than $1 trillion in trades last year and currently oversees about $60 billion in open interest, reported record activity in July 2025. 

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