Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urges Congress to pass Clarity Act

On April 10, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong endorsed passage of the Clarity Act after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged Congress to move quickly on digital asset regulation. “We agree. Thank you Scott Bessent for saying it. It’s time to pass the Clarity Act,” Armstrong wrote, adding that he is “grateful for all the bipartisan work among Senators and staff over the past several months to make this a strong bill.”

The Clarity Act would create a federal framework for U.S. crypto markets, including rules for stablecoins. In a public opinion piece, Bessent argued that “digital asset rules need clarity” and called on lawmakers to advance the bill.

Coinbase had withheld support for earlier versions of the legislation this year while stablecoin provisions tied to yield remained unresolved. More recently, Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal described the bill as “very close” to an agreement on those issues.

The company has not announced a policy change following Armstrong’s comments. Policy discussions in Washington continue over anti-money laundering and sanctions controls for stablecoin issuers and how these assets connect to the banking system.

Analysts at TD Cowen assessed that recent White House findings on stablecoins are unlikely to ease political divisions and that the path for crypto legislation in Congress remains uncertain.