Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Reveals Effort for US Lawmakers to Pass the Market Structure Bill

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has disclosed that the Market Structure Bill has strong support and could soon be finalized. He disclosed this in a post on X following the recent roundtable between crypto executives and lawmakers.

In a video shared on X, Armstrong noted that the government shutdown has not stopped the Senate from working hard to finalize the bill.

Armstrong Confirms Bipartisan Support for Market Structure Bill

According to him, Republican and Democratic senators have already agreed on 90% of issues in the proposed legislation. He stated that both parties are currently exchanging draft texts to finalize on pending issues.

He said:

“I sat down with Senate Democrats and Republicans who want to get this done – we’re 90% there. Both sides are working hard to figure out the final 10%, and we’re getting close.”

Even with the pending issues, Armstrong has now predicted that the bill should be out of committee by Thanksgiving and passed into law by year-end.

Other executives in the meeting also expressed the same bullishness. Galaxy Digital ceo Mike Novogratz noted that the meeting was constructive with real interest in bipartisan legislation from both parties.

The Market Structure Bill could provide much-needed clarity for the crypto sector. While the US has already passed a law on stablecoins, the Market Structure Bill outlines the regulations governing the sector. It covers issues such as spot crypto trading, classification of digital assets, and regulatory authority.

Crypto Executives Kick Against Permissioned DeFi

Interestingly, Armstrong also mentioned some of the knotty issues that remain unresolved. He noted that decentralized finance (DeFi) and stablecoin rewards are among the pending, unresolved topics.

However, he reiterated the opinion of many in the crypto community that DeFi should not be regulated. According to him, Coinbase is working towards ensuring that the interest of innovation in crypto is protected.

He wrote:

“Coinbase is continuing to push for clear rules that protect innovation in DeFi and your right to earn stablecoin rewards.”

While there is a loophole in the GENIUS Stablecoin Act that allows yield-bearing stablecoins to exist, the crypto industry is working to keep the loophole. This is largely due to the increasing lobbying efforts by major banks, which are asking Congress to ban stablecoins that offer rewards.

Meanwhile, other crypto executives have also emphasized the need for DeFi to remain unregulated. Jito Labs’ legal advisor, Rebecca Rettig, noted that DeFi must remain permissionless, as permissioned DeFi is not DeFi.

She said:

“There can’t be ‘two’ DeFis – one ‘regulated’ (gated) & one ‘unregulated’. The beauty of DeFi is its openness, automaticity &intermediary-less-ness. Policy goals must be achieved differently for DeFi.”

Her comments and those of other crypto stakeholders are in reaction to Democrats’ efforts to regulate DeFi. While they claimed this is necessary to curb illicit finance and protect users, there are concerns about the proposed definition of digital asset intermediaries.

However, Rettig also acknowledged the need to protect consumers and combat illicit financial activity. She stated that it must be done differently from how it is done in TradFi or CeFi, noting that DeFi protocols are already achieving this with their code.