- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes the CLARITY Act has enough Senate support ahead of a vote scheduled for Sept. 15.
- Armstrong said greater regulatory certainty would emerge even if the bill fails because the SEC and CFTC are prepared to issue digital-asset rules.
- The bill needs at least 60 Senate votes, with ethics provisions and other unresolved issues still under negotiation.
- Coinbase is expanding beyond spot cryptocurrency trading into stocks, commodities and foreign exchange.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said ahead of a Senate vote scheduled for Sept. 15 that the U.S. cryptocurrency industry would gain regulatory clarity regardless of the CLARITY Act’s fate. The outcome matters because Armstrong views the bill as a potential regulatory milestone that could unlock institutional capital and support products such as tokenized stocks in the United States.
Armstrong told CNBC that he believes the measure has enough support in the Senate. He said senators with whom he has spoken view the legislation positively.
Armstrong also said the bill’s rejection would not pose a critical problem for the industry. According to him, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have already signaled that they are ready to publish their own rules for the digital-asset market, providing greater regulatory certainty regardless of the vote.
The bill must secure support from at least 60 senators. Ethics provisions remain a central issue in negotiations, along with other unresolved matters.
Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona previously said lawmakers would need to refine the ethics provisions and other open issues to reach the required vote threshold. Armstrong said the parties were continuing to align on those details and were “very close to a solution.”
Sen. Lummis previously said there was a risk that the CLARITY Act could be delayed until 2030.
Coinbase expands beyond crypto trading
Coinbase is broadening its business beyond spot cryptocurrency trading, a segment Armstrong said has effectively been shrinking over the past year. Trading still generates about half of the company’s revenue, according to Armstrong.
The company has expanded its trading products to include stocks, commodities and the foreign-exchange market. Coinbase also classifies stablecoins and institutional custody among its non-trading revenue sources.
Coinbase is continuing its international expansion and has established hubs in the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, which Armstrong called the company’s Asian hub. He said overseas expansion was particularly important during periods when the U.S. regulatory environment was unfavorable.
The company is also seeking growth in markets where governments take a more supportive stance toward cryptocurrencies.
Source: Incrypted
