Senate markup of the US crypto market infrastructure bill, the Clarity Act, was postponed last week after Coinbase pulled its support over multiple concerns, including provisions that would prohibit stablecoins from paying rewards to holders.
Speaking at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos today, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said negotiations were progressing but warned that the draft legislation threatens to unfairly penalize crypto companies competing with traditional finance firms (TradFi). “Some of their lobbying organizations in DC are trying to put their thumb on the scale and ban their competition, which I have zero tolerance for,” said Armstrong, referring to traditional banking lobby groups.
Armstrong outlined two main reasons for allowing stablecoin rewards. First, he argued it benefits consumers directly by putting more money in their pockets. Second, he warned that prohibiting rewards would undermine global competitiveness, noting that offshore stablecoins currently exceed US regulated ones in size and would benefit if American stablecoins were banned from offering rewards. But Coinbase’s profits are also somewhat reliant on stablecoins. In Q3 2025, Coinbase’s net revenues from stablecoins was $243 million, a figure equivalent to 56% of its net income, as highlighted in a previous report.
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