Quick Take

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said that he expects the U.S. Clarity Act to make significant progress in the short term.

During a Wednesday interview on Fox Business, Grewal affirmed that the crypto market structure bill is moving forward despite the ongoing debate on stablecoin yield.

"I think we're very close to a deal," Grewal said. "We're seeing a real recognition that rewards are important, but also other key elements of the bill are critically important to making sure that President Trump's vision of the United States as the crypto capital of the world is fulfilled."

The U.S. banking sector has been lobbying to make sure that the Clarity Act includes language preventing crypto platforms from offering stablecoin yield on idle balances. Banks have argued that crypto companies should be regulated under the same principles as traditional institutions, and that allowing stablecoin yield could lead to significant deposit flight from banks.

Deposit flight unlikely

In his Wednesday interview, Grewal stated that there is no concrete evidence that such a deposit flight would happen.

"I can understand the theoretical argument that somehow stablecoins pose a risk to deposit flight from banks, especially community banks," Grewal said. "But if that were in fact the reality, we'd see evidence of that. In fact, there has been no evidence of deposit flight whatsoever."

Grewal noted that the issue of stablecoin yield should not be conflated with other challenges that U.S. banks are facing.

"I'm very confident we're going to see progress," Grewal added. "It's exciting to see that we're moving toward a markup hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, hopefully as soon as in the next few weeks, and ultimately a floor vote."

Coinbase and its CEO Brian Armstrong have been vocal in opposing versions of the Clarity Act that would ban rewards on idle stablecoin balances. Armstrong has repeatedly argued that such limits would stifle innovation in the U.S. and harm consumers.

Meanwhile, Coinbase stock on the Nasdaq (COIN) has underperformed amid the prolonged downturn in the cryptocurrency market, falling 50% over the past six months. It closed down 0.9% on Wednesday at $172.99.

"The company as a whole is very much focused on not just the next quarter or the next year, but the next 10 years and the next 25 or even 50 years in crypto," said Grewal.

"This is much more than just about buying and selling tokens, but actually building technology infrastructure that will fundamentally change how our financial system works, with an eye towards making the financial system better for regular Americans," he added.