A division appears to be forming among crypto industry executives regarding the market structure bill, with crypto giants such as Coinbase pulling support, but others stating that any regulation is better than none.
“Crypto builders need clear rules of the road,” said Chris Dixon, managing partner at a16z Crypto on Thursday.
He added that over the past five years, Republicans, Democrats, and the Trump Administration “have worked closely with members across the crypto industry to protect decentralization, support developers, and give entrepreneurs a fair shot … at its core, this bill does that.”
As CoinTelegraph reports, the comments are about the controversial market structure bill, or CLARITY Act, which was due for a Senate markup this week but has been delayed by the Senate Banking Committee today.
“It’s not perfect, and changes are needed before it becomes law. 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,” said Dixon.
Coin Center executive director, Peter Van Valkenburgh, was also positive, stating on Thursday that “we’re optimistic about where the current market structure draft stands.”
However, as Micah Zimmerman reports for Bitcoin Magazine, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange cannot support the Senate Banking Committee’s latest draft of the CLARITY Act, warning that the bill, as written, would leave the U.S. crypto industry worse off than the current regulatory status quo.
In a post on X, Armstrong cited several concerns, including what he described as a de facto ban on tokenized equities, new restrictions on decentralized finance that could grant the government broad access to users’ financial data, and provisions that weaken the Commodity Futures Trading Commission while expanding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s authority.
“After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written,” Armstrong posted.
He also criticized draft amendments that would eliminate rewards on stablecoins, arguing they would allow banks to suppress emerging competitors.
“We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill,” Armstrong said on X, adding that Coinbase would continue pushing for a framework that treats crypto on a level playing field with traditional financial services.
“There are too many issues, including a de facto ban on tokenized equities, DeFi prohibitions, giving the government unlimited access to your financial records, and removing your right to privacy, erosion of the CFTC’s authority, stifling innovation, and making it subservient to the SEC, [and] draft amendments that would kill rewards on stablecoins, allowing banks to ban their competition.”
BREAKING: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says Coinbase “can’t support” the crypto market structure legislation as currently written 👀
“We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” pic.twitter.com/3BCgWw0kM9
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 14, 2026
Venture capitalist Tim Draper was also in support of the Coinbase chief executive, stating:
“Brian Armstrong makes sense here. The current Senate compromise is worse than no bill at all. Sounds like the banks have been meddling.”
The comments come a day before the Senate Banking Committee is expected to mark up the CLARITY Act on Thursday, January 15.
The legislation is trying to clarify U.S. digital asset market structure by defining categories such as digital commodities, investment contracts, and payment stablecoins, while dividing oversight between the SEC and CFTC.
Coinbase’ issues with stablecoin rewards
Stablecoin rewards have emerged as a flashpoint in negotiations. Coinbase had reportedly warned lawmakers it may withdraw support for the bill if it restricts yield programs tied to stablecoins like USD Coin.
Coinbase shares in interest income generated from USDC reserves and uses part of that revenue to offer incentives to users, including rewards of roughly 3.5% for Coinbase One customers.
Stablecoin-related revenue may have reached $1.3 billion in 2025, making the issue central to Coinbase’s business model.
Banking groups argue that yield-bearing stablecoins could draw deposits away from traditional banks, while crypto firms counter that banning rewards would stifle innovation and push users toward offshore platforms.
“I’m actually quite optimistic that we will get to the right outcome with continued effort,” Armstrong later posted on X. “We will keep showing up and working with everyone to get there.”
Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, retweeted Armstrong’s post, showing his own support with the decision.
Bitcoin shrugs off the controversy
Speaking to Cointelegraph, OKX Singapore CEO Gracie Lin said that Bitcoin’s latest rally “reminds us that markets often start pricing outcomes before policymakers conclude their debates.”
“We’re seeing Bitcoin responding to renewed ETF demand, improving liquidity, and growing optimism that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act could bring a more stable framework to U.S. digital asset markets,” she added.
“From here, the focus is on three things: how CLARITY evolves through the Senate’s Banking Committee, how resilient spot ETF flows prove to be, and whether the late‑January Fed meeting keeps financial conditions supportive – or triggers a sharp reset.”
Bitcoin (BTC) neared $98,000 in early trading Thursday before pulling back as the key digital asset legislation hit a roadblock late Wednesday.
Wall Street broker Benchmark views a delay of the Senate Banking Committee’s crypto market structure bill as a potentially constructive pause rather than a setback.
“While the delay may at first appear as cause for concern among those desiring the clarity that the legislation would enable, it may ultimately be constructive, in our view, as it will provide the committees with breathing room so they can work through fundamental policy disagreements on issues such as stablecoin yield,” analyst Mark Palmer said in a Thursday report.
U.S. lawmakers delayed a key procedural step toward comprehensive crypto regulation late Wednesday by postponing planned a markup of the Senate’s digital asset market structure bill as negotiations intensify over stablecoin yield and tokenized securities.
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