White House May Drop Support for Clarity Act If Coinbase Holds Its Stance

• White House has threatened to pull support for the Clarity Act if Coinbase doesn’t offer a reasonable solution.
• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has accused the banks of undermining President Trump’s crypto agenda.
• The delayed Senate’s markup for the Clarity Act has divided the crypto community amid renewed demand from institutional investors.

The White House has stepped up its push to pass the Clarity Act in the Senate by pressuring Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN). Following the delayed Senate’s markup vote earlier this week after Coinbase pulled its support, the White House is now considering backing off if the crypto exchange does not provide a solution to the current impasse on stablecoin yield.

White House Pressures Coinbase to Pass Clarity Act

Eleanor Terrett reported earlier on Saturday, January 17, that persons close to the Trump administration confirmed the White House’s disappointment with Coinbase’s action. According to the announcement, the White House is furious and may consider withdrawing its support if Coinbase does not counter traditional banks with a satisfactory yield agreement.

The report stated that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong did not notify the White House of its decision earlier this week to jeopardize the Senate’s bipartisan talks on the Clarity Act. Moreover, the White House believes that Coinbase ‘rug pulled’ it with its despite other crypto companies, led by Ripple Labs, supporting the bill as it is.

“This is President Trump’s bill at the end of the day, not Brian Armstrong’s,” the sources stated. 

Is Armstrong Under Siege?

In an interview with FOX Business, Armstrong stated that traditional banks are trying to protect their profit margins with the current Clarity Act. As such, Armstrong stated that the banks are trying to undermine President Trump’s crypto agenda.

However, the White House’s decision has potentially put Coinbase under siege. Senator Cynthia Lummis agreed with Greg Xethalis that the passage of the Clarity Act was not a walk in the park.

Already, the Democrats in the House of Representatives have engaged with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amid the heated debate on crypto legislation. As such, the bipartisan efforts on the Clarity Act have stalled but Armstrong has stood for crypto users’ benefits due to their political influence ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Related: House Democrats Engage SEC Amid Heated Crypto Regulation Crash

What’s Next?

Following the delayed Senate markup vote on the Clarity Act, Tim Scott, the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, urged leaders across the board to work together in good faith to pass the Clarity Act to ensure consumer protection and strengthen the country’s financial system.

According to billionaire Mike Novogratz, the founder of Galaxy Digital, the bipartisan support for the Clarity Act will ensure the bill passes in the coming few weeks. However, Novogratz stated that banks are extremely worried that the high stablecoin yield will affect their operations by reducing their profit margins.

Related: Coinbase Pulls Support Of CLARITY Act, Citing Restrictions