Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Shifts to Back CLARITY Act

Coinbase, one of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges, remains heavily exposed to shifts in trading activity and regulation. Chief Executive Brian Armstrong said the market is approaching a point of historical mean reversion, suggesting the downturn may be losing momentum. A clearer federal framework would reduce compliance uncertainty and could encourage capital and talent to return to the U.S. digital-asset industry.

Armstrong said the crypto bear market is nearing its end and expressed optimism about an upcoming U.S. Senate vote on the Clarity Act, though no specific vote date was provided. Coinbase is also expanding beyond conventional crypto trading into tokenized equities, real-world assets, or RWA, and AI Fi. The broader product mix is intended to strengthen the company’s resilience when cryptocurrency trading volumes and prices weaken.

In the United States, every Bitcoin payment may be treated as a disposal of an asset. Even for small purchases, users must calculate their cost basis and capital gains. Coinbase says a de minimis tax exemption would ease tax-reporting burdens and lower regulatory barriers to using Bitcoin for everyday payments.

CEO Brian Armstrong and several other executives recently publicly denied social media allegations that Coinbase had lobbied against Bitcoin tax relief to promote stablecoins. They said the company had never taken such action and had instead continued to support legislation. Existing reports did not disclose a specific exemption amount, the dates of the statements or a legislative timetable.