Coinbase CEO Highlights Bipartisan Progress on Crypto Legislation, Flags Ethics Negotiations

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said significant bipartisan progress has been made on comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation, though key ethics provisions for elected officials remain under negotiation.

Broad Coalition Backs Measure

Armstrong described the legislative process as collaborative, noting extensive input from stakeholders across the political spectrum and industry.

“There’s been a lot of good bipartisan compromise, hundreds of pages of input from both sides,” he said, adding that law enforcement groups, banks and crypto companies are behind it.

He confirmed that the “must-have issues” Coinbase had previously raised “have now been resolved.”

Ethics Provisions for Officials Still Unresolved

One outstanding issue involves ethics rules for elected officials who hold digital assets. When asked whether the legislation adequately addresses potential conflicts of interest, Armstrong indicated negotiations are ongoing.

“the details are still being worked out and negotiated.”

He outlined the current positions:

the White House has “already put out an offer on the table that has a very strong ethics provision,” while Democrats “have requested something a little bit beyond that, which would include divestiture.”

Despite the gap, Armstrong expressed optimism that a resolution is near.

“appear to be very close to a solution.”

Armstrong Pushes Back on Regulatory Arbitrage Claims

Responding to criticism from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — who has accused Coinbase of leveraging the bill’s stablecoin provisions for regulatory arbitrage against traditional banks — Armstrong did not name Dimon directly but characterized the opposition as self-interested.

critics with large payments businesses face a “competitive issue” and are “talking their own book.”

Armstrong countered that major financial institutions support the legislation, citing Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Fidelity as backers.

Agentic Finance Identified as Next Growth Frontier

Looking beyond current legislative fights, Armstrong pointed to agentic finance as an emerging area with significant potential.

“still early, but that’s the big TAM that’s on the horizon.”