Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, has denied reports that the White House is considering withdrawing support for the CLARITY Act, and also denied rumors that the administration is “furious” with Coinbase.
“The White House has been extremely constructive here. They have asked us to see if we can come to an agreement with the banks, which we are currently working on,” Armstrong he said.
On Friday, freelance journalist Eleanor Terrett reported clash between Coinbase and the administration of US President Donald Trump, during which the White House threatened to withdraw support for the Market Structure Act if Coinbase did not resume negotiations.
Coinbase withdrew its support for the CLARITY Act on Wednesday amid concerns that the legislation would crush the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, ban trading in tokenized stocks and prohibit the sharing of stablecoin profits with customers.
“We would rather have no bill than a bad one. Let’s hope we can all come up with a better bill,” Armstrong he said on Wednesday, sharing a list of industry concerns about the latest bill.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee postponed the planned CLARITY Act markup, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, until lawmakers and the crypto industry can negotiate more acceptable terms.
Armstrong said he expected recent rates within “a few” weeks and characterized provisions included in the blocked version of the bill as “catastrophic” for consumers, echoing widespread concerns among crypto industry executives.
Related: The U.S. Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act is in limbo as the industry attracts support
The CLARITY Act leaves a division in the cryptocurrency industry as the fight over the viability of stablecoins intensifies
The CLARITY Act has created a divide in the crypto industry, with some industry executives arguing that the bill is a positive for the sector despite its flaws and others arguing that it is a major setback for the industry
At the center of the debate is the issue of sharing profits from stablecoins with customers, which is prohibited by the latest version of the law.
Critics of the act to talk that it protects banking interests at the expense of the cryptocurrency industry and kills innovation in financial technology.
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