Coinbase CEO says key crypto vote can be rescheduled after 11th hour cancellation
Published Thu, Jan 15 2026
7:34 PM EST
Emily Wilkins@emrwilkinsWATCH LIVEKey Points
- Senators canceled a markup and vote of a major crypto bill after a number of issues, including opposition from Coinbase.
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says negotiations continue and a vote could happen in a few weeks.
- Lawmakers say many issues remain beyond specific concerns Coinbase has raised.
CEO of Coinbase Brian Armstrong is interviewed for CNBC in the Russell Senate office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Jan. 15, 2026.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
Senators are vowing to go forward on a major crypto bill that would give the industry the rule of the road after a planned committee vote was derailed at the 11th hour.
But the biggest sticking points have been issues for months as Democrats, Republican, the crypto industry and banks have tried to find common ground.
The likelihood that the latest version of the bill, which was released late Monday, would be able to get the approval of the Banking Committee was already tenuous when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that Coinbase would not be able to support the bill, listing several concerns including a reduced role for the CFTC and limits on the ability for crypto to offer consumers rewards in the bill..
"It was the 1,000th cut in a death by 1000 cuts," Sen. Cynthia Lummis told CNBC of Armstrong's tweet.
A few hours after Armstrong publicly opposed the bill, Banking Chair Tim Scott, R-S.C., formally called off the hearing, postponing it to a yet-to-be-announced date.
Armstrong told CNBC that after a new version of the bill was dropped late Monday night, he was surprised by some of the provisions in it. By the time Coinbase's team identified key areas of concern, it was too late for any changes to be made in a markup.
"We've got a chance to do a new draft and hopefully get back into a markup in a few weeks," Armstrong said.
Lummis, said it could take until February or March to re-hold the vote.
"I feel like I got run over by a Mack truck," said Lummis, one of the biggest crypto proponents on Capitol Hill who has worked on similar legislation for years.
"But we'll get back at it after this break and find some ways to fix the bill."
One of the biggest debates around the bill deals with the rewards that companies can offer stablecoin holders. Under the stablecoin law, crypto exchanges cannot offer customers interest on stablecoin â however they can offer rewards that act like interest.
Banks have said the language could lead to hundreds of billions being moved from deposits to stablecoin â one Fed report suggests there could be a credit squeeze of hundreds of billion to as much as $1.2 trillion if stablecoin can offer interest.
Armstrong said he would like to speak with bank CEOs directly on this, but argued that the bill needed to treat both industries equally.
"Crypto companies should be allowed to compete and offer loans just like banks," he said.
Banks are also preparing to fight for more favorable language. More than 3,000 banks signed a petition lead by the American Bankers Association warning that allowing crypto to offer interest-like rewards "will siphon trillions from local lending, leaving less money available for car loans, agricultural loans, mortgages, and small business borrowing that drive local economies."
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., said she's spoken with representatives from the banking and crypto industries, and she thinks if there is more time to negotiate, an agreement can be reached soon.
"Everyone agrees that there has to be a compromise somewhere in there, and making sure that we are allowing the innovation to grow," she said.
Caleigh Keating contributed to this article.