Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes the U.S. crypto industry will achieve greater regulatory certainty regardless of whether the Senate passes the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15.

Speaking with CNBC on Wednesday, Armstrong said approval would provide lawmakers’ formal backing for a clear regulatory framework. However, he argued that rejection would not necessarily be harmful because the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are prepared to pursue rulemaking of their own. As a result, he expects the industry to gain clearer rules either on the vote date or shortly afterward.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is aimed at resolving the uncertainty surrounding U.S. oversight of digital assets. The proposed legislation would establish clearer boundaries between the SEC and CFTC, with securities-related tokens generally falling under the SEC and decentralized commodities such as Bitcoin coming under the CFTC.

It would also create a federal regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, brokers and stablecoins. Industry participants believe clearer rules could remove barriers to institutional adoption and encourage more traditional financial firms to enter the digital-asset market.

CLARITY Act enters vote with broad support

Armstrong said the bill has gained substantial bipartisan backing after lawmakers received hundreds of pages of input and worked through numerous compromises.

He said support extends across law enforcement organizations, banks and crypto companies, adding that the major issues Coinbase previously considered essential have been resolved.

Some disagreements remain over ethics provisions concerning elected officials who hold digital assets.

Armstrong said negotiations over those rules are still ongoing. He noted that the White House has proposed what he considers a strong ethics framework, while Democrats have pushed for additional requirements, including possible divestiture of digital assets.

Despite the differences, Armstrong said both sides appear to be close to reaching a compromise.

Armstrong responds to banking concerns

The Coinbase chief also pushed back against criticism of the bill from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who has argued that its stablecoin provisions could give Coinbase an unfair regulatory advantage over banks.

Without directly identifying Dimon, Armstrong said critics with significant payments businesses may have a competitive interest in the debate and could be “talking their own book.”

He pointed to Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and Fidelity as major financial institutions that support the legislation.

Agentic finance could unlock a major market

Armstrong also highlighted agentic finance as an emerging opportunity for the crypto industry. Although the sector remains at an early stage, he described it as a potentially large total addressable market and a major future source of growth.

He said Coinbase-built infrastructure currently handles most agentic payment activity.

More than 90% of the approximately 165 million agentic payments recorded so far have taken place on Base, the blockchain developed by Coinbase, using the x402 payment protocol and USDC, according to Armstrong.

He said this activity puts Coinbase in a leading position as agentic finance develops.

Armstrong also repeated his bullish long-term Bitcoin forecast, saying that $400,000 by 2030 is “a reasonable target.” He added that he believes Bitcoin’s bottom has already been reached during the latest market cycle.