US Crypto Market Structure Bill Delayed After Coinbase Withdraws Support

• Armstrong revealed that after reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the past 48 hrs, Coinbase sadly can’t be in support of the bill as written.
• The draft in effect would prohibit paying interest only for holding a stablecoin, and it would still permit rewards associated with activities like payments. 

Washington’s efforts to have clearer rules for crypto failed as the Senate Banking Committee postponed its said markup of a sweeping market structure, followed by the Coinbase withdrawal for the latest draft. 

On January 14, the Chairman, Tim Scott, revealed that the committee would postpone the markup, as bipartisan negotiations have not concluded yet. However, he didn’t give another date for this. 

The postponement is followed by the public withdrawal of support by Brian Armstrong for the draft bill, which focuses on clarifying how crypto tokens are classified and positions spot market oversight with the CFTC. 

Armstrong revealed that after reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the past 48 hrs, Coinbase sadly can’t be in support of the bill as written. The disagreement of Coinbase comes amid a fast-moving lobbying fight over stablecoin rewards, with banks putting pressure on lawmakers to intercept crypto platforms from providing yield-like incentives that can look and feel like interest on deposits. 

Serious Bipartisan Negotiations 

The banking industry reveals that Congress has so far established boundaries in the GENIUS Act, which limits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield simply for holding a payment stablecoin, and it also mentions that the market structure bill should shut down what it calls an ‘end run’ through exchange rewards. 

Scott revealed that he had words with stakeholders and indicated negotiations continue. He also mentioned that this bill shows months of serious bipartisan negotiations and actual input from innovators and law enforcement. 

The aim is to offer clear rules of the road that safeguard consumers, make national security more robust, and make sure the future of finance is made in the United States. The draft in effect would prohibit paying interest only for holding a stablecoin, and it would still permit rewards associated with activities like payments or loyalty programmes, having the SEC and CFTC entrusted with setting disclosure rules. 

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