Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Backs Passage of CLARITY Act After Earlier Pushback

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the CLARITY Act should now be passed, calling the current version a strong bill.
• The endorsement marks a shift from Armstrong’s earlier criticism, when he said Coinbase could not support the legislation as originally written.

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong has thrown his support behind the CLARITY Act, a notable change in tone from earlier this year when he said the company could not back the bill in its existing form.

In a post on X on Thursday, Armstrong said Coinbase agreed with recent comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had urged Congress in a Wall Street Journal op-ed to move ahead with the legislation. Armstrong said that after months of negotiations involving lawmakers, crypto firms and banking industry representatives, the current version of the bill had become a “strong bill.”

Armstrong reverses course as negotiations reshape the bill

That endorsement matters because Coinbase’s earlier objections were not minor. Roughly three months ago, ahead of an important committee vote, Armstrong had said the exchange could not support the bill “as written.” At the time, that suggested the industry still saw serious problems in the draft.

Now the message is different. Coinbase appears to believe the negotiation process has moved the legislation closer to something the sector can live with, or at least something its largest U.S. exchange is prepared to publicly defend.

The shift also shows how fluid Washington’s crypto policymaking remains. A bill that was once seen as too flawed by a major industry player is now being presented by the same player as ready for passage.

Treasury backing adds more weight to the push

Armstrong’s support comes after Bessent’s public intervention, which gave the bill a broader policy push beyond crypto lobbying alone. That matters in Washington. Treasury support does not guarantee passage, but it changes the political texture around a bill that might otherwise be framed as an industry wish list.

For Coinbase, the public endorsement also carries strategic weight. The company has spent years pressing for clearer U.S. crypto rules, often arguing that uncertainty itself is part of the problem.

Now that a version of the CLARITY Act appears closer to its preferred shape, Coinbase is no longer standing at a distance. It is leaning in, openly, and asking Congress to move.