CLARITY Act Markup Could Reportedly Hit Next Week — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Says It Won't Change Contract With Circle

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on the company’s first quarter earnings call that he is “confident” the legislation will advance this month and expects a Senate floor vote in early summer.
• Armstrong added that Coinbase’s existing commercial agreement with Circle will remain unchanged despite ongoing negotiations around stablecoin regulation.
• However, uncertainty remains after Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said Democrats will not support the CLARITY Act without an ethics provision restricting crypto ties for senior government officials.

The Senate Banking Committee is reportedly preparing to notice a markup for the CLARITY Act as soon as today, with draft legislative text already circulating to select industry members ahead of a potential Thursday vote.

“The language is reportedly still being finalized, with additional edits expected to reflect priorities from Democratic offices,” wrote cryptocurrency policy journalist Eleanor Terrett in a post on X. She added that the “overall vibes” positive so far, even though some key provisions previously thought to be settled may still be shifting.

The development comes alongside Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong stating that he was “confident” that the markup is happening this month. He forecast that the floor vote would happen in “early summer”, following by signed legislation by the end of summer. 

Coinbase Says Circle Relationship Will Continue Under Existing Terms

While lawmakers continue negotiating the final structure of the bill, Coinbase said it does not expect immediate changes to its commercial relationship with Circle (CRCL), the issuer of the USDC stablecoin.

“The contracts that we have in place with Circle are set,” Armstrong said during Coinbase’s earnings call. “We expect to continue to go forward with our relationship with Circle under those same terms.”

He added that many implementation details tied to stablecoin regulation still remain unresolved and will likely depend on future rulemaking after legislation passes.

“As for business impact going forward, there remain a lot of rules that still need to be written once the legislation is passed,” he said. “So I think it would be premature to get out ahead of that.”

COIN’s stock fell over 2% in morning trade. Retail sentiment around the company on Stocktwits  remained in ‘neutral’ territory over the past day, with chatter at ‘high’ levels. 

The dip in Coinbase’s share price comes amid weakness in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin (BTC) struggling to hold $80,000, and a slew of price target cuts from Wall Street after the company missed first quarter (Q1) earnings estimates. 

Meanwhile, CRCL’s stock edged 0.1% higher in morning trade, with retail sentiment trending in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘extremely high’ levels. Retai sentiment around USDC, however, trended in ‘bearish’ territory alongside ‘normal’ levels of chatter.

Ethics Provision Remains Key Obstacle For CLARITY Act

One of the biggest unresolved issues in negotiations remains the inclusion of ethics restrictions tied to cryptocurrency ownership and business ties among senior government officials.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said earlier this week at Consensus Miami 2026 that the legislation would not pass the Senate without those safeguards. “There will be no one voting for this bill if we don't have an ethics provision,” she stated during the event.

Gillibrand warned that lawmakers, presidents, vice presidents, and senior administration officials should be prohibited from profiting from cryptocurrency businesses while in office.

Bitcoin’s price was trading at around $80,300 in morning trade, down 0.1% in the last 24 hours. Retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, accompanied by ‘high’ levels of chatter.

Read also: COIN Stock Drops After Wall Street Price Target Cuts On Q1 Earnings Miss – Retail Traders Say HOOD Had It Worse

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