Summary
- Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said he supports passage of the US crypto market structure bill (the CLARITY Act).
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he withdrew support for the CLARITY Act, citing issues such as a de facto ban on tokenized stocks, restrictions on DeFi, and undermining stablecoin rewards.
- Armstrong said the CLARITY Act in its current form would lead to a worse outcome than a regulatory vacuum, adding that if it is a bad bill, it would be better not to have a bill at all.
Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, voiced support for the US crypto market structure bill known as the CLARITY Act.
In a post on X, Tenev said on the 15th (local time) that “it’s time for the US to show leadership in crypto policy,” adding that he “supports Congress’s efforts to pass the CLARITY Act.” He added that “there are still issues to resolve, but a clear path is emerging,” and said he would “actively help the Senate Banking Committee so it can deliver results.”
By contrast, US crypto exchange Coinbase recently withdrew its support for the CLARITY Act. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the previous day (the 14th) that “after reviewing the Senate Banking Committee’s CLARITY Act draft for 48 hours, we’ve concluded we cannot support the bill in its current form,” citing “too many problems,” including “a de facto ban on tokenized stocks, provisions restricting DeFi, and undermining stablecoin rewards.”
Armstrong stressed that “(the CLARITY Act) would produce a worse outcome than a regulatory vacuum.” He added, “If it’s a bad bill, it’s better to have no bill at all,” and said “crypto should be treated on a level playing field with existing financial services so the industry can be built in the US in a safe and reliable way.”
Earlier, on the 13th, the US Senate released the full text of a CLARITY Act draft negotiated between Republicans and Democrats. The Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee had planned to hold a markup of the CLARITY Act on the day, but postponed the schedule.
