“No Bill Rather Than a Bad Bill”: Coinbase’s CEO Pulls Support from US Crypto Draft Bill

The positive reaction around the bipartisan crypto market structure bill put forward by US lawmakers appears to have faded, as Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the country, has pulled its support. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, even stated that “we’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.”

Coinbase’s Pushback on the Crypto Draft Bill

Armstrong highlighted several issues in the draft bill, including what he described as a “de facto ban on tokenised equities.” This appears to be linked to commercial interests, as Coinbase and other crypto platforms plan to introduce tokenised stocks and assets.

He also said the draft bill would remove rewards on stablecoins, which he argued would allow “banks to block their competition.” Earlier, banking lobbyists warned that stablecoins offering around 5 per cent risk-free returns could trigger a “deposit flight” from low-interest bank accounts.

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The DeFi provisions in the draft bill were another concern raised by Armstrong. He said these measures would give “the government unlimited access to your financial records and remove your right to privacy.”

The Coinbase CEO also criticised the draft bill for weakening the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over cryptocurrencies.

“We appreciate all the hard work by members of the Senate to reach a bipartisan outcome, but this version would be materially worse than the current status quo,” Armstrong added.

After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written.

There are too many issues, including:

- A defacto ban on tokenized equities
- DeFi prohibitions, giving the government unlimited access to your financial…

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 14, 2026

A Bipartisan Crypto Bill in the US

US lawmakers introduced the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act earlier this week, renewing a long-running effort to create clear federal rules for classifying digital asset tokens and regulating their issuers.

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The draft legislation would establish a formal framework for categorising tokens, whether they fall under securities law, commodities oversight, or another category. This issue has driven years of legal uncertainty and enforcement disputes.

However, the crypto industry now appears divided over the proposed bill.

“It’s not perfect, and changes are needed before it becomes law,” said Chris Dixon, managing partner at a16z Crypto. “But now is the time to move the CLARITY Act forward if we want the US to remain the best place in the world to build the future of crypto.”