Coinbase has once again found itself at the center of the conflict surrounding stablecoin regulation in the US. The exchange made it clear to Senate staff that it is not ready to support the latest version of the compromise on yield in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act bill.
This is already the second instance where the company is effectively stalling the advancement of the document on the same topic. Against this backdrop, an open debate has begun within the industry, and some market participants have started talking about boycotting the exchange.
The dispute has once again centered on the yield of stablecoins.
The new version of the bill attempts to limit payouts on passive balances in stablecoins. It not only prohibits classic income but also any forms of compensation that can be interpreted as an economic equivalent of interest.
This point has become a key issue for Coinbase. The company believes that in its current form, the regulations create too much uncertainty.
According to the proposed law, the SEC, CFTC, and U.S. Treasury must separately determine within 12 months which incentive programs can be considered permissible. For Coinbase, this means that an important part of the business could be left hanging without clear parameters and timelines.
For Coinbase, this is a matter not only of policy but also of money.
The exchange's position is simply explained. In 2025, Coinbase received $1.35 billion in revenue from stablecoins. This is about 19% of the company's total income.
Against this backdrop, restrictions on user payouts become not a secondary topic for it, but a question of the business model. The exchange does not want to agree to a compromise if, after the law is adopted, the rules remain vague.
This is precisely why the company has taken a hard line. Inside Coinbase, they essentially believe that it is impossible to support a law that first imposes restrictions and then promises to explain someday how they will work in practice.
A split has emerged within the industry.
The market's reaction was sharp. After the news of Coinbase's new position, some users and industry representatives openly spoke out against the exchange and its head, Brian Armstrong.
Not everyone in the sector shares the company's approach. Some market participants believe that even an imperfect compromise is better than a complete failure of the bill. Their logic is based on the idea that the market first needs to get a basic legal framework, and contentious issues can be revisited later.
In other words, the split is occurring not only between the crypto industry and regulators, but also within the industry itself. Some want to fix at least some law right now. Others believe that concessions on the yield of stablecoins will create too weak a model for years to come.
Coinbase has political weight.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that Coinbase is not an ordinary market participant. The company remains one of the key sources of funding for the political network Fairshake, which supports industry-friendly candidates.
This gives the exchange a leverage that most crypto companies do not have. Therefore, its disagreement with the text of the law automatically becomes a negotiating factor in Washington.
This is precisely what many see as the main problem. When the largest player in the industry does not support a compromise, the chances of quickly getting the document through the Senate decrease.
The bill has little time left.
For supporters of the law, the situation is complicated by the calendar. If the Senate Banking Committee does not advance the document by the end of April, the window for its adoption may quickly narrow.
The closer the midterm elections get, the harder it will be to gather political support around the controversial regulation. In that case, the market risks being left without a new law in the near future.
This also intensifies the irritation of part of the industry. Many believe that trying to achieve the perfect text now could result in the industry not getting any text at all.
What next?
The story surrounding Coinbase shows how sensitive the issue of yield on stablecoins remains for the market. For the exchange, it's a significant part of the business. For lawmakers, it's one of the most complex points of future regulation. For the entire industry, it's a question of how strict the rules will be in the coming years.
If a compromise is not found in the coming weeks, the bill may get stuck for a long time. Then the dispute over interest on stablecoins will extend beyond a single document and turn into a broader conflict about how exactly the U.S. intends to regulate the market for digital dollars.
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