Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly criticized the Wall Street Journal on September 19, 2026, accusing the publication of preparing a hostile story that would falsely blame him for the U.S. Senate’s rejection of the CLARITY Act.
In a post on X, Armstrong said the Journal has consistently echoed banking industry positions against the crypto regulatory bill. He warned that an upcoming article could present a misleading narrative about his role in the bill’s failure.
Armstrong provided backstory: earlier in 2026 he opposed an initial version of the legislation before a committee vote. He said that January draft had significant problems concerning DeFi, tokenization, CFTC authority, and stablecoin-related rewards, and lacked enough support to pass. Rather than abandoning the effort, Coinbase worked with stakeholders to address those issues.
Armstrong stated the final version of the bill addressed all four concerns by the time it returned to committee about four months later, and he believed it deserved Senate passage.
