Coinbase CEO Targets Progress On Crypto Bill During Davos Talks

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong says he is taking Washington’s crypto market structure talks to Davos this week, aiming to narrow the gap with banks as lawmakers struggle to keep a sweeping bill on track.

In a video posted on X, Armstrong said Coinbase will stay engaged during the World Economic Forum, and he plans more conversations with bank leaders to push toward a draft the industry can live with.

“We’re going to continue to work on the market structure legislation, and meet with some of the bank CEOs to figure out how we can make this a win-win,” he said.

He argued stablecoins should create opportunities for both crypto platforms and traditional lenders, and said he will feed those discussions back to lawmakers and the administration in an effort to move the legislation forward.

Market Structure Fight Centers On Token Classification

The bill at the centre of the dispute seeks to clarify when digital tokens fall under securities rules or commodities oversight, and it would put spot crypto markets under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a long-running goal for many major US exchanges.

Coinbase last week pulled its support after reviewing the updated text, with Armstrong posting, “After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written.”

He said the draft carries too many problems, including what he described as a de facto ban on tokenized equities, restrictions affecting decentralized finance and privacy, and changes that would weaken the CFTC in ways that could leave innovation at the mercy of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Markup Delayed As Lawmakers Seek Middle Ground

Coinbase’s break landed just as the Senate Banking Committee prepared to mark up the bill, and the panel has since postponed its session as bipartisan negotiations continue, with Chairman Tim Scott saying stakeholders remain engaged.

A key flashpoint has been stablecoin rewards, with banking groups pressing lawmakers to ensure crypto firms cannot replicate deposit-like interest through incentive programmes, and crypto advocates warning that an overly broad ban would choke off product design.

The draft would restrict paying interest solely for holding a stablecoin, while still allowing rewards tied to certain activities such as payments or loyalty programmes, with disclosure rules to be set by the SEC and CFTC.

Armstrong says he will also use Davos to pitch a broader message to policymakers and executives, that crypto infrastructure and tokenization can modernise market plumbing and expand access to capital markets.

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