Coinbase and a handful of allies are actively lobbying Congress to prevent stablecoin legislation from passing in a standalone bill, a strategic move that is causing friction in the tight-knit world of crypto policy as one such bill nears a floor vote in the Senate, sources familiar with the matter told Decrypt.
Stablecoin bills currently before Congress would provide a path to legality for issuers of stablecoins—digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar that allow crypto traders to enter and exit positions without the need to access dollars directly. The bills would be the first to effectively legalize a foundational component of the crypto industry. Stablecoins serve as a key connector between crypto and traditional financial markets.
Passage of stablecoin legislation has been a top industry priority for months, and parallel stablecoin bills have already passed key committee votes in the Senate and House. Those bills are now zooming toward full floor votes and are widely expected to pass with bipartisan support. The Senate is itching to move first, and is planning to bring its stablecoin bill, the GENIUS Act, to a floor vote in the next two weeks, sources familiar with the matter told Decrypt.
After a stablecoin bill passes both congressional chambers, it would then head to President Donald Trump’s desk for signature. The president has previously said he is eager to sign the legislation into law as soon as possible.
But in private meetings with lawmakers, Coinbase is attempting to prevent these stablecoin bills from heading to floor votes, sources familiar with the matter told Decrypt. The company is being aided in that effort by Silicon Valley venture giant Andreessen Horowitz, the sources added.
Why would America’s most prominent crypto company urge lawmakers not to pass the most high profile piece of pro-crypto legislation ever put before Congress? The issue has nothing to do with the contents of the bill, which Coinbase and its allies fully support, sources say—but everything to do with political calculus.
At the moment, Congress is considering two major pieces of crypto legislation: a stablecoin-focused bill, and a market structure bill known as “FIT21,” which would functionally legalize the rest of the industry. Congressional leadership has indicated it plans to pass stablecoin bills first, and market structure legislation shortly thereafter, with the goal of having both bills signed into law by August.
If we only do stablecoin, they think there might not be enough interest or appetite or time left to also do market structure.
But Coinbase, which chiefly needs market structure legislation passed for its business model to be legally validated, has grown anxious there may not be enough goodwill on Capitol Hill for two crypto-focused votes. Now, the company wants both bills rolled into one, and for a single jumbo crypto bill to hit the Senate and House floors as soon as possible.
“If we only do stablecoin, they think there might not be enough interest or appetite or time left to also do market structure,” one source familiar with the company’s thinking told Decrypt. “And they really want to make sure market structure gets done.”
Coinbase’s concern was likely exacerbated by new lawsuits targeting the company for alleged securities violations, the source said. Under the Trump administration, the SEC has dismissed federal charges against the crypto exchange, but now, new state-level suits are raising the issue again. This added heat is likely causing Coinbase to double down on its desire to hold off votes on crypto-related legislation until market structure is included, the D.C. insider added—given the bill would finally put to bed issues related to the securities status of most crypto assets.
A Coinbase spokesperson told Decrypt the company is not working to prevent the passage of stablecoin legislation, but that wrapping such bills together with market structure would be more efficient and effective. The spokesperson emphasized Coinbase would respect any decision lawmakers came to about how best to get crypto-related legislation passed.
“Every bipartisan step toward regulatory clarity is good for crypto and good for America,” Coinbase VP of US Policy Kara Calvert told Decrypt. “But stablecoin legislation and market structure legislation are two sides of the same coin—just like the quarter in my pocket,” she said.
Another source familiar with Andreessen Horowitz’s political strategy told Decrypt that while the firm is “sympathetic” to delaying votes on stablecoin legislation in the interest of getting both crypto bills passed—and cares more about the passage of a market structure bill—the company has not been actively pushing lawmakers to adopt this strategy. A representative for Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment on this story.
The problem with Coinbase’s plan, though, is that waiting for market structure legislation to be ironed out in both chambers of Congress, and then rolled into existing stablecoin legislation, could take months. Key sponsors of both bills, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), have recently expressed that passing market structure legislation, given its scope, will be a particularly burdensome task that will likely take more than five months.
For those reasons, key players in crypto policy have expressed confusion and exasperation at Coinbase’s strategy. They argue the industry currently enjoys an unprecedented amount of political capital in Washington, and should use it now to achieve a major victory. Passing stablecoin legislation would likely increase momentum for other initiatives, they say, and would also immediately pave the way for other goals, like American stablecoin issuer Circle’s planned IPO.
Further, any number of political controversies involving ongoing overseas wars, mounting tariff-related tensions with China, or a potential recession could rip Congress’ attention away from crypto indefinitely. So why not pass a favorable law now, when the path is clear?
“Just take the win,” one frustrated crypto policy player said of Coinbase’s approach.
The disagreement has created an unlikely scenario on Capitol Hill, in which the vast majority of crypto companies are actively lobbying lawmakers to pass stablecoin bills as soon as possible, and a small cohort of the industry’s most powerful political players are urging the same lawmakers to do the opposite.
Coinbase and Andreessen Horowitz are among the principal backers of crypto super PAC colossus Fairshake, and have invested heavily in well-connected policy teams. Despite being greatly outnumbered in the industry on their position with regards to stablecoin legislation, the companies appear to have made key inroads on the issue. Rep. French Hill (R-AR), chair of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, for instance, is partial to Coinbase’s position and also wants to wait on passing stablecoin legislation until it’s combined with market structure, sources familiar with the lawmaker’s thinking told Decrypt.
Representatives for Rep. Hill did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment on this story.
With floor votes looming, the intra-industry skirmish on stablecoin legislation—which has bubbled under the surface for some weeks—is now coming to a head. Next week, the Digital Chamber, a prominent D.C.-based crypto lobbying group, plans to fly out representatives of at least 40 of its member companies to Washington, to urge lawmakers in-person to defy Coinbase’s requests and pass stablecoin legislation immediately.
“The moment has been here and there is no need to wait,” Cody Carbone, the Digital Chamber’s CEO, told Decrypt. “Congress can notch a bipartisan win today by passing the stablecoin bill and locking that leadership in the U.S. before it drifts to Beijing, Brussels, or Dubai.”
