Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the crypto industry is positioned to gain regulatory clarity regardless of the outcome of the Senate’s Sept. 15 vote on the CLARITY Act.
Armstrong told CNBC on Wednesday that approval of the legislation would give the industry a formal set of rules, but he argued that even a failed vote could ultimately produce a positive result. The SEC and CFTC have indicated they are prepared to issue their own regulations, he said, meaning clearer rules could arrive either on Sept. 15 or within the following couple of days.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is intended to settle the long-running debate over which U.S. regulator should oversee different parts of the crypto market. The proposed framework would place tokens classified as securities under SEC supervision while giving the CFTC authority over decentralized commodities such as Bitcoin.
The bill would also establish federal requirements for crypto exchanges, brokers and stablecoin issuers. Industry participants expect such a framework to reduce uncertainty and potentially encourage greater institutional adoption of digital assets.
Armstrong points to broad backing
Armstrong said the legislation has accumulated substantial bipartisan support following extensive negotiations and hundreds of pages of feedback from lawmakers and other stakeholders.
He said law enforcement agencies, banks and crypto companies are among those supporting the bill. Armstrong also noted that the key issues Coinbase previously identified as essential have now been addressed.
Ethics rules for elected officials who own digital assets remain one of the areas still being negotiated.
Asked whether the proposed legislation does enough to prevent conflicts of interest, Armstrong said the final details have yet to be settled. He noted that the White House has offered a strong ethics framework, while Democrats have pushed for additional measures that could require officials to divest their digital-asset holdings.
Armstrong said the two sides appear to be close to reaching an agreement.
Coinbase faces criticism from banks
The Coinbase CEO also addressed concerns raised by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon over the stablecoin provisions in the legislation. Dimon has argued that the rules could enable Coinbase to gain a regulatory advantage over traditional banks.
Armstrong did not directly name Dimon but suggested that companies operating large payments businesses could have a competitive motivation behind their criticism. He also highlighted Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Fidelity as major financial institutions that have backed the CLARITY Act.
Agentic finance emerges as a major opportunity
Armstrong identified agentic finance as another potentially significant growth area for Coinbase and the wider crypto industry.
While the market remains in its early stages, he described it as a major total addressable market with substantial future potential. He said Coinbase-developed infrastructure already accounts for most agentic payment activity.
According to Armstrong, more than 90% of the approximately 165 million agentic payments recorded so far have taken place on Base, the blockchain created by Coinbase, using the company’s x402 protocol and USDC.
He said the scale of that activity gives Coinbase a leading position in the emerging agentic finance sector.
Armstrong also reiterated his bullish long-term outlook for Bitcoin, saying a price of $400,000 by 2030 is “a reasonable target.” He further maintained that Bitcoin has already reached the bottom of its latest market cycle.
