GoKawiilBrian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, speaks next to US President Donald Trump during a meeting with cryptocurrency executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 19, 2026. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)
The Clarity Act, which seeks to establish a U.S. federal framework for digital assets, is likely to pass given broad support from crypto firms, law-enforcement groups and several banks, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said.
The legislation was ready to be supported by the Senate, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Thursday, saying people he has spoken with are on board with the legislation.
While Armstrong was upbeat about the prospects of the legislation getting the Senate's approval, he said even if that doesn't happen, the sector will get greater regulatory clarity.
"Frankly, if it doesn't pass, it's also going to be a good outcome because the SEC and the CFTC have said that they're ready to publish rulemaking, and we're going to get regulatory clarity one way or another on the 15th or the day or two after," he said.
Coinbase has been a vocal supporter of the Clarity Act, which aims to define oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, that's set for a Senate vote on Sept. 15.
Securing 60 votes has emerged as a key challenge, with ethics provisions among the issues under negotiation.
"The way to get 60 votes is with good ethics legislation as well as rounding out some of the things that are still outstanding," Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona said at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium last month.
Armstrong said the details of the ethics provisions were still being worked out and negotiated, but appeared "very close to a solution" ahead of the vote.
He described the potential passage of the Clarity Act as a "regulatory checkbox" that could help unlock institutional capital and pave the way for products such as tokenized equities in the U.S. "It'd be a big milestone."
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