Coinbase CEO Withdraws Support from Crypto Bill Over Excessive SEC Authority

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has withdrawn his company's support for a major Senate crypto bill due to concerns over excessive SEC authority. The Clarity Act, intended to establish federal rules for digital assets and divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC, is set to be voted on by the Senate Banking Committee.

According to Armstrong, the latest draft of the bill would give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) too much power, weakening the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) role in deciding which tokens fall under securities or commodities oversight. He also pointed out a 'defacto ban on tokenised equities' and restrictions affecting decentralized finance.

Armstrong specifically objected to amendments that would further limit rewards tied to transactions, payments, transfers, remittances, and liquidity provision in DeFi protocols. The proposal would bar companies from paying passive yield on users' stablecoin holdings while allowing rewards for these activities.