TLDR
- Brian Armstrong says US crypto rules could arrive even if the CLARITY Act fails its Senate vote on Sept. 15.
- The SEC and CFTC are ready to publish their own crypto rulemaking if Congress does not act.
- Ethics rules for elected officials remain under negotiation, but Armstrong says the two sides are close to a deal.
- Armstrong stands by his $400,000 Bitcoin price target for 2030 and says the market bottom is in.
- Coinbase is expanding beyond crypto trading into stocks, commodities and payments made by AI agents.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the crypto industry could get clearer federal rules whether or not the CLARITY Act passes a key Senate vote next week. He made the comments in an interview with CNBC published Thursday.
The Senate is set to hold a procedural vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Sept. 15. The vote needs 60 votes to move forward and is not the final vote on the bill itself.
Armstrong said a win either way is likely. If the bill passes, he said, the industry gets legislation. If it fails, he expects the SEC and CFTC to publish their own rules within days.
“We’re going to get regulatory clarity one way or another on the 15th or the day or two after,” Armstrong said.
The bill would split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and CFTC. Tokens treated as securities would fall under the SEC, while assets like Bitcoin would fall under the CFTC.
Senate Vote Still Faces Hurdles
Armstrong said the bill has drawn support from crypto firms, banks and law enforcement groups. He said Coinbase’s earlier concerns with the legislation have been resolved.
Republicans need Democratic or independent votes to reach the 60-vote threshold. A short congressional calendar ahead of the November midterms has added pressure to get the bill through.
Ethics rules for elected officials remain one of the last unresolved pieces. Armstrong said the White House has offered what he called a strong ethics provision, while Democrats want stronger rules, including divestiture.
“They appear to be very close to a solution,” Armstrong said of the two sides.
Parts of the banking industry have pushed back on the bill’s stablecoin provisions. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has criticized Coinbase over the issue. Armstrong said firms with large payments businesses have a competing interest in the outcome.
Coinbase Looks Beyond Crypto Trading
Coinbase has been growing its business outside of crypto spot trading, which Armstrong said has been down for the past year. The company now offers stocks, commodities and foreign exchange trading alongside stablecoin and custody services.
Coinbase reported second quarter revenue of $1.2 billion, down from $1.5 billion a year earlier. The company posted a net loss of $359.5 million for the quarter, compared with a profit in the same period last year.
Armstrong also pointed to payments made by AI agents as a growing part of the business. He said more than 90% of roughly 165 million agent payments so far have run through Base, the blockchain built by Coinbase, using the USDC stablecoin and the x402 payment protocol.
Coinbase shares have fallen nearly 23% this year. Armstrong tied some of that pressure to the slowdown in crypto trading volume.
Armstrong repeated his long term Bitcoin price target of $400,000 by 2030. He also said he believes the bottom is in for Bitcoin in the current market cycle.
The Senate’s cloture vote on Sept. 15 will show whether the CLARITY Act can move forward. If it fails, Armstrong expects the SEC and CFTC to begin their own rulemaking within days of the vote.
