Coinbase’s Armstrong Backs Revised CLARITY Act

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong endorsed the latest version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as CLARITY, ahead of a Senate markup scheduled for Thursday. He said the bill is in a stronger bipartisan position and voiced support for negotiated changes to stablecoin rules and other provisions.

“I don’t think it’s ever been in a stronger or more bipartisan position,” Armstrong told reporters. He called the agreement on stablecoin yield a “healthy compromise,” and said Senators Thom Tillis and Kristen Clarke Alsobrooks helped broker the deal between banking and crypto industry lobbyists.

The current draft tightens language on how decentralized finance platforms operate, clarifies treatment for tokenized securities including tokenized stocks, and expands the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s authority over certain crypto market activities. Supporters say those changes aim to reduce regulatory uncertainty for exchanges, banks and investors.

Negotiations between banking groups and crypto firms ran for months. The initial draft of the market structure bill stalled in January after Coinbase and other industry participants rejected provisions that lacked clearer boundaries between securities and commodities and did not address stablecoin rules to their satisfaction. The revised text reflects compromises across those issues.

Public polling and industry surveys show interest in the legislation. A HarrisX poll of 2,008 registered U.S. voters found 52% support for passing the CLARITY Act and 11% opposed. The National Cryptocurrency Association’s 2025 State of Crypto Holders report, based on a survey of 54,000 U.S. residents, estimates about 20% of Americans own cryptocurrency; it reports 67% of crypto owners are under 45, 15% are over 55, and 52% of holders cite using crypto as an investment.

Thursday’s Senate markup will determine whether the bill advances to further debate or amendment. If the Senate moves the bill forward, lawmakers and regulators will need to resolve remaining technical language and jurisdictional questions before any final vote.