Coinbase's High-Stakes Bet: Can the Comprehensive Legislation Succeed?
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Coinbase's High-Stakes Bet: Can the Comprehensive Legislation Succeed?
Coinbase seems to be following Trump's playbook, as it's also trying to push through all crypto legislation in one go.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Veronica Irwin, unchainedcrypto
Translation: Shan Oba, Jinse Finance
Over the past few months, President Trump has been urging Congress to pass one comprehensive tax bill rather than several smaller bills to address budget issues. He calls it the "big beautiful bill."
Coinbase appears to be following Trump’s lead, attempting to push through all major crypto legislation at once.
According to six people familiar with the matter, lobbyists and executives from the leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are pushing Congress to draft a comprehensive regulatory framework for most crypto assets while simultaneously advancing stablecoin legislation.
The stablecoin bill would cover key issues such as which agency regulates issuers, reporting and auditing requirements, and what qualifies as acceptable collateral for blockchain-issued digital dollars. However, the market structure legislation is far more complex, setting out rules defining when tokens are treated as commodities or securities, and how crypto exchanges like Coinbase should register with regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The market structure bill is crucial for Coinbase, as its platform offers over 200 digital assets and provides services including staking and custody.
Kara Calvert, Coinbase's Vice President of U.S. Policy, said: "The crypto market is an integrated system that requires a comprehensive solution. We believe that when legislation becomes law, it must cover all these different areas." She emphasized that Coinbase isn't pushing this legislative agenda in isolation, adding: "Ultimately, we want all relevant laws to take effect simultaneously—or nearly so—to prevent regulatory gaps in the market."
However, due to the complexity of market structure legislation, many industry insiders worry that Coinbase may be betting on a high-risk strategy and could miss a critical opportunity for the industry. A lobbyist critical of Coinbase’s approach said: "Most people think this is a bad idea. We should first secure a 'low-hanging fruit' victory in stablecoins before tackling the much harder challenge of market structure legislation."
Stablecoin Legislation Is Ahead
So far, Congress has not passed any standalone crypto-specific law, but legislation around the $233 billion stablecoin market is significantly closer to becoming law than bills regulating the broader $2.97 trillion crypto market.
The Senate version of the stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act, cleared the Senate Banking Committee two weeks ago and is now poised for a full chamber vote. The House version has not advanced as far, with only two draft proposals released so far. However, congressional staff members from both the House and Senate financial committees told Unchained they are working together to reconcile differences between the bills, and the House version could catch up soon.
Political pressure is also accelerating progress. President Donald Trump stated in early March that he wants a stablecoin bill delivered to him by August, and Bo Hines, executive director of the Presidential Working Group on Digital Assets, said last week that the stablecoin bill could reach the president's desk within two months.
In February, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Representative French Hill of Arkansas, Senator John Boozman of Arkansas, and Representative Glenn (GT) Thompson of Pennsylvania held a press conference with David Sacks, the White House lead on AI and crypto policy, pledging to move legislation forward quickly. As chair of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Scott controls the pace of the Senate stablecoin bill. At the press event, he pledged to pass a significant crypto law within the first 100 days of the Trump administration, with the stablecoin bill being the most likely candidate.
Key Issues in Market Structure Legislation
In contrast, no market structure bill has yet been introduced in this session of Congress. But lobbyists interviewed by Unchained generally expect that the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21)—previously proposed in the prior Congress—will serve as the starting point for new legislation, meaning it will advance faster than a completely new proposal. Notably, FIT21 was the first digital asset bill to pass a full House vote, a precedent that could help propel new market structure legislation.
Kara Calvert of Coinbase agrees: "Market structure legislation isn’t starting from scratch. Last year, FIT21 gained support from 71 Democratic representatives and nearly all Republicans in the House."
Yet key details still require further discussion, and there remains disagreement within the industry. Stakeholders are lobbying Congress for significant improvements in clarifying jurisdictional boundaries between the CFTC and SEC over tokens. Two congressional staff members told Unchained that drafting market structure legislation will still take considerably longer than the stablecoin bill.
Why Coinbase’s Strategy Remains Uncertain
For now, stablecoin legislation remains ahead and is most likely to pass first.
A Senate staffer explained via email to Unchained last week that Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott must approve any crypto bill before it reaches a full Senate vote, and his priority is advancing the stablecoin bill first, followed by the market structure bill.
In contrast, French Hill, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and Scott’s counterpart in the House, maintains a more flexible timeline for both bills, with a focus on moving both forward as quickly as possible. Brooke Nethercott, Deputy Communications Director for the committee, said: "French’s goal is to get both bills successfully to the president’s desk and signed into law. The president has publicly stated he wants the stablecoin bill considered quickly. Both stablecoin and market structure legislation are priorities."
At this stage, the Trump administration has not clearly indicated a preference for which bill should go first. A senior White House official said: "The White House is excited about the legislative outlook for cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Right now, we want the process to unfold and mature naturally."
If stablecoin legislation does pass first, Calvert said Coinbase will not stand in the way. She noted: "Our goal has always been to achieve incremental wins and keep momentum going." She also acknowledged that different companies in the industry have different priorities—some may care more about stablecoins—so interests naturally vary.
Moreover, Coinbase won’t be left empty-handed. In 2023, Coinbase took an equity stake in Circle Financial Ltd., the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, meaning clearer stablecoin regulations would directly benefit Coinbase.
Still, as the largest crypto exchange in the U.S., Coinbase’s ultimate objective remains the market structure bill. The company will continue lobbying to ensure the industry doesn’t “miss the forest for the trees.” Calvert stressed: "We believe that when legislation is signed into law, it cannot solve just part of the market while leaving massive regulatory gaps behind."
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