Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that the crypto industry could gain greater regulatory clarity regardless of whether the Senate advances the Clarity Act in a key procedural vote on September 15.
In a CNBC interview, Armstrong said, “If it passes, great, we’ve got legislation. Frankly, if it doesn’t pass, it’s also going to be a good outcome because the SEC and the CFTC have said that they’re ready to publish rulemaking, and we’re going to get regulatory clarity one way or another on the 15th or the day or two after.”
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is a major U.S. bill that seeks to establish a federal framework for digital assets and clarify crypto oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for tokens that are securities and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for digital commodities like Bitcoin. It would also establish clearer registration and compliance rules for crypto trading platforms and other digital asset intermediaries.
Armstrong said that the bill has attracted bipartisan support heading into the vote. He also said that months of negotiations have resolved Coinbase’s main concern with the legislation.
He said, “There's been a lot of good bipartisan compromise, hundreds of pages of input from both sides.”
However, one major unresolved issue involves ethics provisions for elected officials holding digital assets.
Armstrong argued that the details of the ethics provisions were still being worked out and negotiated, but appeared closer to a solution ahead of the vote.
He said, “The White House has already put out an offer on the table that has a very strong ethics provision,” while Democrats “have requested something a little bit beyond that, which would include divestiture.”
The Clarity Act also faces opposition over stablecoin rules and concerns about money laundering and protections for the banking system.
Armstrong also responded to criticism from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has accused Coinbase of using the bill’s stablecoin provisions to arbitrage regulations against banks.
Armstrong did not name Dimon directly, saying, “Critics with large payments businesses face a competitive issue and are talking their own book.”
Introduced in May 2025, the Clarity Act aims to establish clearer rules for the U.S. crypto industry and passed the House in July 2025.
Meanwhile, Armstrong also reiterated his bullish Bitcoin outlook, telling CNBC that $400,000 by 2030 is “a reasonable target,” and said he believes “the bottom is on Bitcoin in this most recent cycle.”
