Coinbase CEO Says US Crypto Will Gain Regulatory Clarity Even if CLARITY Act Fails

Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong said the US cryptocurrency industry will gain regulatory clarity regardless of the outcome of the Senate vote on the CLARITY Act scheduled for Sept. 15.

CoinDesk reported on Sept. 10 that Armstrong, in an interview with CNBC a day earlier, said passage of the bill would be positive because it would put the rules into law. Even if it does not pass, he said, the result would still be favorable.

Armstrong said the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have indicated they are ready to begin rulemaking. He added that by Sept. 15, or a day or two later, the industry would get regulatory clarity in one form or another.

The CLARITY Act would delineate the SEC’s and CFTC’s oversight of digital assets and establish a federal regulatory framework for market participants including exchanges and brokers. The Senate is set to vote on Sept. 15 in a decision that will determine the bill’s fate.

Armstrong said bipartisan agreement on the legislation has also made substantial progress. He said hundreds of pages of feedback from both parties had been incorporated and that many bipartisan compromises had been reached. The key issues Coinbase had previously raised have now been resolved, he added.

He said negotiations are still under way over ethics provisions related to elected officials’ crypto holdings. According to Armstrong, the White House has proposed strong ethics rules, while Democrats are seeking to add requirements including mandatory asset divestment. He said both sides appeared to be very close to a solution.

Armstrong also commented on stablecoin provisions that have been at odds with parts of the banking industry. He said some critics with large payments businesses were advancing arguments that favored their own interests because of competition concerns. He added that Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Fidelity support the bill.

Armstrong also maintained a bullish long-term view on Bitcoin. He said a Bitcoin price of $400,000 by 2030 was a reasonable target and that the token had already bottomed in the current cycle.