Brian Armstrong Expresses Support for CLARITY Act Before Thursday's Congressional Markup
The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has expressed his backing for the newest version of the CLARITY crypto market structure legislation in advance of Thursday's Congressional markup vote.
Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase, has voiced his approval for the most recent draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) in advance of Thursday's US Senate markup session for the cryptocurrency market structure legislation.
Regarding the current version of the market structure legislation, he remarked: "I don't think it's ever been in a stronger or more bipartisan position."
According to Armstrong, the lobbying groups representing the banking sector and the cryptocurrency industry have successfully negotiated a "healthy compromise" concerning stablecoin yield, an issue that had been a primary obstacle preventing the market structure bill's advancement in January. He further commented:
"I think there was a healthy compromise there, brokered by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks. And you know, it was a good compromise because both sides left a little bit unhappy, but at least we got to a place that we can all live with."
According to his statement, the most recent draft of the CLARITY bill has also enhanced provisions related to decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenized stocks, and the regulatory authority granted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over cryptocurrency markets.
Armstrong's remarks and the scheduled markup session come after several months of ongoing negotiations between representatives from the banking industry and the cryptocurrency sector regarding the legislation, which came to a standstill in January 2025 following rejection of the original draft by cryptocurrency industry participants, with Coinbase taking a leading role in the opposition.
Industry advocacy organizations report approximately 20% of Americans hold cryptocurrency
Approximately one in five US residents, representing 20% of the population, holds cryptocurrency, based on findings from the National Cryptocurrency Association's 2025 State of Crypto Holders report, which collected responses from 54,000 individuals across the United States.
According to the survey's findings, approximately 67% of cryptocurrency owners in the US are younger than 45 years old, whereas roughly 15% fall into the age category of 55 years and older.
Investment purposes emerged as the most popular application for cryptocurrency, with 52% of respondents stating they utilize digital assets to "invest in their financial future," the survey revealed.
Additionally, a HarrisX survey conducted in early May discovered that 52% of the 2,008 registered voters from the United States who participated expressed support for enacting the CLARITY Act into law, whereas only 11% were against the legislation's passage.