Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the Senate's failure to advance the CLARITY Act could work in his exchange's favor by keeping large Wall Street firms out of crypto, even as he acknowledges the outcome is not necessarily good for the wider industry. Days later, crypto super PAC Fairshake said it will spend $30 million opposing former Senator Sherrod Brown's bid to return to Congress.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says the Senate's failure to advance the CLARITY Act could hand his exchange breathing room, even as he acknowledges the outcome isn't necessarily good for the wider crypto industry.
Fewer Rivals Without a Clear Rulebook
In a September 20 interview with Scott Melker, Armstrong explained that a passed bill would have opened the door to more competition, since regulatory clarity would have drawn major financial institutions into crypto. According to CryptoPotato: "we're one of the few companies who's willing to go through that."
He also said the four objections Coinbase raised to an earlier, January draft of the bill — covering tokenized equities, penalties for decentralized finance developers, CFTC authority over spot markets, and stablecoin rewards — had been addressed in the Senate's latest version.
A Procedural Vote, Not a Final Defeat
The Senate blocked the bill by a 49-50 margin on September 15, short of the 60 votes needed to advance it. Armstrong argued the procedural nature of the vote means lawmakers could still negotiate amendments and pick up the debate later.
Fairshake Turns Its Spending on Brown
Days after the vote, crypto super PAC Fairshake said it will spend $30 million opposing former Senator Sherrod Brown's bid to return to Congress in Ohio, where he is challenging Republican Sen. Jon Husted. The group spent roughly $40 million in 2024 to help defeat Brown, whose leadership of the Senate Banking Committee had made him a target for the industry.
Fairshake is primarily funded by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz. The group had raised $116 million for the 2026 elections by January 2025. It reported $108 million remaining at the end of August.
Sources: CryptoPotato, Decrypt
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