Why Coinbase Pulled Support for CLARITY and What's Next

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 23, 2026 at 05:51  |  45:17  |  CoinDesk
Speakers
Kara Calvert — VP of US Policy, Coinbase
TuongVy Le — General Counsel, Veda Tech Labs / ex-SEC / Co-Host, DEX in the City
Renato Mariotti — Legal commentator, Bloomberg Law
Jennifer Sanasie — Senior Anchor & Executive Producer, CoinDesk

Summary

Coinbase's decision to withdraw support from the Senate crypto market structure draft dominated a CoinDesk policy discussion that also covered Senate timing, stablecoin rewards, SEC exemptive authority, and tokenization. Guests Kara Calvert of Coinbase and Tuongvy Le of Veda Labs were optimistic that legislation can still advance before the midterms, while co-host Renato Mariotti remained concerned about Senate math and an ethics dispute. The conversation also examined NYSE and DTCC tokenization efforts, prediction market litigation, and CFTC funding needs.

  • Coinbase pulled support for the Senate market structure draft, citing stablecoin rewards, SEC exemptive relief, and DeFi developer protections.
  • Senate Banking delayed its crypto market structure work while the Agriculture Committee released a partisan draft similar to the House CLARITY Act.
  • Kara Calvert and Tuongvy Le expect a workable bill can still pass before the midterms, but Renato Mariotti sees a narrow window and ethics-related risks.
  • Stablecoin reward/yield rules and SEC exemptive authority are central sticking points in the legislation.
  • Tokenized equities and onchain capital markets were discussed as a global race, with NYSE and DTCC taking different approaches.
  • Prediction market lawsuits could create a circuit split and potentially reach the Supreme Court.
  • The CFTC's spot-market authority and its funding and staffing needs were also debated.
Ideas
Renato Mariotti Legal commentator, Bloomberg Law 1:28
Crypto bill window is closing.
He is concerned that the window for U.S. crypto market structure legislation is closing before the November midterms. The Senate needs 60 votes and there are only 54 Republicans, so six Democratic votes are required; an unresolved ethics dispute between the White House and Senate Democrats could blow up the deal, leaving crypto dependent on rulemaking without permanence.
BITO HIGH
Kara Calvert VP of US Policy, Coinbase 6:35
Coinbase faces regulatory headline risk.
Coinbase pulled support from the market structure draft because it would endanger stablecoin rewards, SEC exemptive relief, and DeFi developer protections; a bad bill would leave stakeholders worse off. This creates regulatory headline risk for Coinbase until the language is fixed, even though the company remains at the table and optimistic about a workable bill.
COIN MED
Kara Calvert VP of US Policy, Coinbase 12:24
Optimistic market structure bill passes before midterms.
She is optimistic that U.S. crypto market structure legislation can pass before the midterms. The banking and agriculture drafts together can provide critical definitions for commodities versus securities and give the CFTC spot market authority, though they must be stitched together and key issues like stablecoin rewards and SEC exemptive authority fixed. Clear rules would help the crypto industry grow and prevent Europe from becoming more attractive for crypto launches.
BITO HIGH
Kara Calvert VP of US Policy, Coinbase 17:29
Section 505 threatens tokenized equities.
Section 505 of the banking draft could eliminate the SEC's exemptive authority for tokenized equities, effectively creating a de facto ban. The language needs to be fixed so tokenized securities remain subject to securities regulation but can use blockchain rails; otherwise the U.S. risks falling behind in the global race to tokenize assets.
Tokenized Equities HIGH
TuongVy Le General Counsel, Veda Tech Labs / ex-SEC / Co-Host, DEX in the City 26:25
Clear crypto rules could unlock industry growth.
She is optimistic that a U.S. market structure bill can be reached in the coming weeks. Crypto is a multi-trillion-dollar industry that cannot responsibly grow and protect consumers without clear rules of the road, so both sides need to compromise and pass legislation before the midterms.
BITO HIGH
TuongVy Le General Counsel, Veda Tech Labs / ex-SEC / Co-Host, DEX in the City 28:20
Blockchain will reallocate credit, not destroy it.
She argues blockchain replaces intermediaries with infrastructure, letting consumers control and capture more of the value of their own money. New financial infrastructure will reallocate credit rather than destroy the banking system, similar to how money market funds and securitization reorganized credit. This broader paradigm shift is irreversible and incumbents are already adapting.
DEFI HIGH
TuongVy Le General Counsel, Veda Tech Labs / ex-SEC / Co-Host, DEX in the City 33:51
Onchain lending protocols are growing structurally.
Onchain lending protocols have grown significantly and should continue to take share as blockchain enables more direct credit. Banks may stop being the default lending source and become one option among many, with returns flowing more directly to capital suppliers rather than intermediaries. This reallocation of credit is a structural shift, not a collapse of credit.
Onchain lending protocols MED
TuongVy Le General Counsel, Veda Tech Labs / ex-SEC / Co-Host, DEX in the City 35:37
Tokenized onchain capital markets will grow.
She sees onchain capital markets and tokenized securities as a major paradigm shift. Legacy intermediaries like NYSE are pursuing native issuance and trading on the blockchain, which can eliminate separate clearing and settlement intermediaries and unlock real benefits; DTCC's approach preserves more of the old intermediary structure. Incumbents are not waiting for market structure legislation, so the trend should continue even if the bill stalls.
Onchain capital markets Tokenized securities HIGH
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This CoinDesk video, published January 23, 2026, features Renato Mariotti, Kara Calvert, TuongVy Le discussing BITO, COIN, Tokenized Equities, DEFI, Onchain lending protocols, Onchain capital markets, Tokenized securities. 8 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Renato Mariotti, Kara Calvert, TuongVy Le  · Tickers: BITO, COIN, Tokenized Equities, DEFI, Onchain lending protocols, Onchain capital markets, Tokenized securities