Coinbase opposes Senate crypto bill, warns of SEC overreach and DeFi bans

Key Takeaways

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong opposes the current Senate draft, warning it could restrict tokenized equities, privacy in DeFi, and stablecoin rewards.
• A new Coindesk report says Sen. Cynthia Lummis indicated the hearing may be postponed, despite the initial plan to amend and vote Thursday.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange will not support the current Senate Banking Committee crypto bill, citing provisions that could ban tokenized equities, restrict DeFi, and kill stablecoin rewards.

https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/2011545247105355865

In a post after reviewing the draft over 48 hours, Armstrong warned the bill would hand excessive authority to the SEC, weaken the CFTC, and grant the government sweeping access to financial data. He also pointed to amendments that could give banks the power to eliminate crypto competition by ending yield-bearing stablecoins.

The Senate Banking Committee was initially set to amend and vote on the bill Thursday morning, but a new report from CoinDesk says Senator Cynthia Lummis indicated the hearing may be postponed. The legislation aims to define when digital assets qualify as securities or commodities and to assign regulatory oversight between the SEC and the CFTC.

Armstrong said Coinbase respects lawmakers’ efforts but believes this draft would be worse than no legislation at all. “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill”, he wrote, pledging to keep pushing for crypto-friendly regulation.