The White House was reportedly considering withdrawing its support for a long-awaited bill on the crypto market structure, according to a journalist familiar with the matter.
This follows a public rift with Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States and one of the staunchest supporters of the bill.
However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently denied the reports.
Related: Analyst revamps Coinbase rating as Clarity Act hearing nears
Senate markup of crypto bill gets delayed
The U.S. crypto market structure bill, formally known as the Digital Asset Market Structure Framework, is designed to establish clear federal rules for how cryptocurrencies and digital assets are regulated in the United States.
However, the latest draft shared by Sen. Tim Scott did not fly well with Coinbase. It resulted in the largest exchange of the United States pulling back its support.
Armstrong said he would "rather have no bill than a bad bill," arguing that the draft legislation fails to treat crypto assets on par with traditional financial services.
His objections include the absence of stablecoin yield rewards, what he described as a "de facto ban" on tokenized equities, unlimited government access to user financial records, and a regulatory framework that places the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in a subordinate role to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Following Armstrong's comments, the Senate Banking Committee also postponed its anticipated Jan. 15 markup of the bill.
Coinbase's influence is significant. The exchange spent millions of dollars through political action committees during the 2024 election cycle to support pro-crypto candidates, and lawmakers widely view its endorsement as pivotal for the bill's chances of passing.
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White House reportedly reacts to Coinbase
Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported on X that the White House is weighing whether to pull its support entirely if Coinbase does not return to negotiations and agree to a stablecoin yield framework acceptable to major banks.
According to a source close to the Trump administration, the White House was "furious" over Coinbase's "unilateral" decision, which it allegedly was not notified of in advance.
The source characterized Armstrong's move as a "rug pull" against both the administration and the broader crypto industry, adding that the White House does not believe any single company speaks for the entire sector.
"This is President Trump's bill at the end of the day, not Brian Armstrong's,"the source said.
TheStreet Roundtable reached out to the Senate Banking Committee and the White House for a comment and had not received a response by the time of publication.
Coinbase denies reports of rift with White House
On Jan. 18, right after Terrett's post on X, Armstrong responded .
"In general, love your posts, but this is not accurate. The White House has been super constructive here. They did ask us to see if we can go figure out a deal with the banks, which we're currently working on."
He also hinted that they were working on a few ideas to help community banks with the bill.
Related: Congress introduces the CLARITY act to regulate digital assets
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jan 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
