Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong gives an interview to CNBC on January 15, 2026, at the Russell Senate Office Building in the Capitol building in Washington, DC.
Annabelle Gordon Reuter
Senators have vowed to move forward with a major crypto bill that would give the crypto industry more control after a scheduled committee vote stalled at the eleventh hour.
But the biggest impasse is an issue on which Democrats, Republicans, the crypto industry and banks have been trying to find common ground for months.
The chances of the latest version of the bill, announced late Monday, gaining approval from the Banking Committee were already in jeopardy Wednesday afternoon when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that Coinbase could not support the bill, listing several concerns, including a reduction in the CFTC’s role and the bill’s limitations on cryptocurrencies’ ability to reward consumers.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis told CNBC of Armstrong’s tweet, “This was the 1,000th slash of a 1,000 slasher who died.”
Hours after Mr. Armstrong publicly opposed the bill, Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R.S.C.) formally canceled the hearing and postponed it to an unannounced date.
Armstrong told CNBC he was surprised by some provisions in the bill after the new version was introduced late Monday night. By the time Coinbase’s team identified key areas of concern, it was too late to make any changes to the markup.
“We have a chance to make another draft and we hope to get back to the markup in the next few weeks,” Armstrong said.
Lummis said it could take until February or March to hold another vote.
“I feel like I was hit by a Mack truck,” said Lummis, one of the biggest crypto advocates on Capitol Hill and a longtime advocate of similar legislation.
“But we will return to the matter after this break and find some ways to amend the bill.”
One of the biggest debates surrounding the bill concerns the rewards that companies can offer to stablecoin holders. Under the Stablecoin Act, virtual currency exchanges cannot offer customers interest on stablecoins, but they can offer interest-like rewards.
Banks say this language could result in hundreds of billions of dollars being moved from deposits to stablecoins. One Fed report suggests that if stablecoins are able to provide interest rates, there could be a credit crunch of hundreds of billions of dollars up to $1.2 trillion.
Armstrong said he wanted to speak directly to bank CEOs about the issue, but insisted the bill needed to treat both industries equally.
“Cryptocurrency companies should be able to compete and provide loans just like banks,” he said.
Banks are also preparing to fight for more favorable representation. A petition led by the American Bankers Association, signed by more than 3,000 banks, warns that allowing crypto-based rewards such as interest would “siphon trillions of dollars from local lending, reducing the amount of money available for auto loans, farm loans, mortgages, and borrowing for the small businesses that drive local economies.”
Sen. Angela Allsbrooks (D-Md.) said she has been talking with representatives from the banking and cryptocurrency industries and believes an agreement could be reached quickly if more time is given to negotiate.
“Everyone agrees that somewhere we have to make compromises and ensure that innovation grows,” she said.
Caleigh Keating contributed to this article.
