Coinbase’s Armstrong says big banks are trying to stifle stablecoin yields

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says big banks are “undermining” President Trump’s crypto agenda by pushing CLARITY Act language that would block the 4-5% stablecoin production now fueling Coinbase’s $1.35b revenue line.

In an interview with Fox Business, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong accused major US banks of “trying to undermine the president’s crypto agenda” by pushing to deprive Americans of the ability to earn income from stablecoins. He described the Senate’s latest draft as a “handover to banks” that would “hinder their competition” by capping yields on digital dollars. Armstrong said that the banks are “taking money out of the pockets of hard-working, ordinary Americans and putting it into the coffers of big banks that are making huge profits.”

Under the GENIUS Act of 2025, stablecoin issuers must fully repay tokens in cash or Short-Term Funds and are prohibited from paying interest directly, but exchanges such as Coinbase are allowed to transfer approximately 4-5% of Treasury returns to customers through reward programs. The new CLARITY Act circulating in Washington would prohibit stablecoin yields “directly, indirectly, and in any economic or functional equivalent to bank interest,” while only allowing performance-based rewards. Coinbase told senators it “cannot support” the current text.

Trump Support and Bank Lobby Fear

President Donald Trump has publicly sided with crypto firms, accusing banks on Truth Social of “threatening and undermining” the GENIUS Act and “holding up the CLARITY Act” over the stablecoin crop. “Americans should get their money’s worth,” Trump wrote, urging Congress to pass a market structure bill “ASAP.” According to a report from Bloomberg, banks have cited a Treasury study that suggests they could lose up to hundreds of billions if stablecoin mining is allowed, warning this could pressure smaller institutions and reduce loan funding.

Vulnerable numbers describe the intensity. Coinbase has generated about $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue by 2025, about 19% of its total, driven largely by interest on USDC reserves backed by US Treasuries. The total stablecoin volume reached $33 trillion last year, with USDC accounting for about 18.3 billion of that flow. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have indicated that if the adoption of the USDC payment accelerates, Coinbase’s stablecoin revenue could grow two to seven times from its 2025 base.

At the moment, the fight for yield has become the norm for US crypto policy: banks are lobbying to close the so-called “loophole,” crypto platforms are lobbying to preserve the bottom line and 4–5% returns for users. With Trump’s public crackdown on banks and Armstrong’s warning of “legal capture,” the bottom line of the GENIUS–CLARITY framework will determine whether stablecoins remain a profitable alternative to bank deposits or return to low-yield digital currency.