- Major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini reportedly lobbied to remove restrictive language from a 2026 market structure bill that could have limited token listings.
- The legislative edits, which occurred after a Senate committee vote, highlight the growing influence crypto companies have on lawmakers and the Trump administration.
- A compromise on stablecoin regulation has revived the bill, with industry leaders and lawmakers predicting passage within weeks.
In early 2026, as a digital asset market structure bill moved through the U.S. Senate, major exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini reportedly sought to alter its language to protect their business models. According to a Friday Politico report, the three companies asked lawmakers to scrap a provision requiring platforms to only list assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” Consequently, this provision could have severely restricted the listing of smaller, more volatile tokens.
This reported edit occurred after the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its version of the bill in January. Meanwhile, the influence of crypto companies communicating with the Trump administration and legislators became apparent. However, the Senate Banking Committee postponed its markup hours after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated the exchange could not support the legislation “as written,” citing concerns over tokenized equities.
Under the bill, known as the CLARITY Act, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would gain more authority over digital assets. Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad responded to the report on social media, calling it “old news” from the Agriculture Committee markup. Subsequently, a compromise deal on stablecoin yield announced last week has renewed momentum for the legislation.
Coinbase‘s U.S. policy vice president, Kara Calvert, said the exchange expected a banking committee markup by next week. Other lawmakers predicted the bill would become law before the Senate’s August recess. Furthermore, White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt said the administration aimed for a July 4 deadline for House passage after a June Senate vote.
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