Coinbase Exit Sparks White House Threat to Withdraw Support for Crypto Bill

The Trump administration is considering withdrawing its support for the cryptocurrency market structure bill entirely if Coinbase doesn’t return for negotiations, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, citing a source to the Trump administration.

“The White House is said to be furious with Coinbase’s ‘unilateral’ action on Wednesday, which it apparently was not notified of in advance, calling it a ‘rug pull’ against the White House and the rest of the industry,” Terrett wrote.

According to the source, the Trump administration may fully abandon the Bill unless Coinbase returns to negotiations and agrees to a compromise on stablecoin yield provisions that would satisfy banking interests.

“This is President Trump’s bill at the end of the day, not Brian Armstrong’s,” the source said, according to Terrett.

Coinbase’s decision sparked significant controversy within and outside the cryptocurrency industry. They continue to argue that Coinbase’s official reasoning shows fear of competition from tokenized securities firms, as it seeks to benefit from regulatory clarity without opening the door to rivals.

However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange could not support the Senate Banking Committee draft in its current form, arguing it would do more harm than good.

The Senate Banking Committee postponed its scheduled markup of the bill on January 15, and no new date has been set yet.

Crypto Market Retreats Amid CLARITY Act Risks

The crypto market remained on edge on Saturday, with BTC and most altcoins edging down, and trading slightly in the red after the White House threatened to withdraw its support for the CLARITY Act.

BTC retreated to $95,162 and ETH to $3,293, as the market edged down to $3.22 trillion market capitalization.

However, analysts and traders are still optimistic that the bill will eventually pass, noting that the current delay is part of a negotiating tactic.

According to Polymarket poll odds, the chance of it passing is 51%, up from this month’s low of 40%. Similarly, a Kalshi poll puts the odds of the bill becoming law before 2027 at 52%.