Coinbase withdraws support for CLARITY Act after Senate rewrite

Beincrypto reports Coinbase pulled its support for the CLARITY Act after the Senate rewrote key parts of the bill, and CEO Brian Armstrong said the company “can no longer support” the Senate’s version because the draft “breaks key parts of market structure” and creates risks for tokenized equities, DeFi, stablecoins, and open crypto markets.

Armstrong outlined four main concerns in his statement after reviewing the Senate Banking Committee’s draft over the last 48 hours: a de facto ban on tokenized equities, provisions that push decentralized protocols into Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money‑laundering regimes (expanding government access to DeFi transaction data), broader SEC control over crypto markets, and stablecoin and banking provisions he says could let banks restrict competition and limit crypto‑native rewards. Coinbase withdrew its backing hours before the Senate was due to move the bill toward committee markup.

The Senate rewrite is an “amendment in the nature of a substitute” that, according to the draft, adds SEC authority, limits certain stablecoin rewards, and expands DeFi oversight. Capitol Hill sources are circulating unconfirmed reports that the markup could be delayed or pulled following Coinbase’s move; for now the bill remains in flux and the outcome is uncertain.

Key Topics

Crypto, Coinbase, Clarity Act, Brian Armstrong, Sec, Defi