The policy paper argues that access to capital markets, rather than income or banking, now defines who can build wealth and says tokenization could widen participation. A new Coinbase Institute report argues that the most important divide in global finance is no longer rich versus poor, but between those who have direct access to capital markets and those who do not, which it describes as the “brokered” versus the “unbrokered.” The report estimates that traditional intermediated rails exclude roughly four billion unbrokered individuals from owning productive assets or raising capital at scale. Closing this gap, it argues, will require rebuilding core market infrastructure so smaller investors and issuers can participate directly rather than through layers of intermediaries. According to the report, over the last 40 years in the United States alone, capital income grew 136% while labor income lagged at just 57%. Read more
The partnership builds upon previous work Bermuda’s government has done to attract crypto companies, including the passage of a comprehensive regulatory framework in 2018. The government of Bermuda is planning to create a “fully onchain” national economy using digital asset infrastructure provided through partnerships with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and stablecoin issuer Circle. In a Monday announcement from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Bermuda Premier David Burt and representatives from Coinbase and Circle said the partnership would allow the Caribbean island nation to use the USDC (USDC) stablecoin and Coinbase’s Base infrastructure to develop a new model for the country’s economy. According to the companies and Burt, Bermuda government agencies will begin with a pilot program for “stablecoin-based payments, financial institutions integrating tokenization tools, and residents participating in nationwide digital literacy programs.” Read more
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the industry is working on several ideas to help community banks in the CLARITY market structure bill. Brian Armstrong, the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, denied reports that the White House is considering pulling support for the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, and also denied rumors that the administration is “furious” with Coinbase. “The White House has been super constructive here. They did ask us to see if we can go figure out a deal with the banks, which we're currently working on,” Armstrong said. On Friday, independent journalist Eleanor Terrett reported a clash between Coinbase and the administration of US President Donald Trump, with the White House threatening to withdraw support for the market structure bill if Coinbase did not resume negotiations. Read more
Coinbase withdrew support for the CLARITY Act, warning the draft would restrict DeFi, ban tokenized equities and eliminate stablecoin rewards. The White House is considering withdrawing its support for crypto market structure bill following a similar move from crypto exchange Coinbase, according to Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett, citing a source close to the Trump administration. In a Sunday post on X, Terrett reported that the White House is furious over Coinbase’s decision to pull its backing for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, describing the move as a “unilateral” action that blindsided administration officials. “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,” she wrote. Read more
Brian Armstrong posted to social media late on a Wednesday saying Coinbase couldn't “support the bill as written,“ potentially leading to a postponement in consideration. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has weighed in on the future of a cryptocurrency market structure bill under consideration in the US Senate less than 24 hours after he said the exchange could not support the current version of the legislation. In a Thursday CNBC interview in the US Capitol building, Armstrong spoke after posting on X Wednesday that Coinbase was pulling its support for the CLARITY Act, a bill to establish digital asset market structure. Members of the US Senate Banking Committee had been scheduled for a markup of the bill on Thursday, which was postponed following Armstrong’s post. “We developed this concern that if [the bill] went into a markup, the only way to edit some of that base text would have been through an amendment, and amendments had already been submitted,” said the Coinbase CEO. “And so we didn’t think it was prud...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong raised four crucial points that he believes would make the legislation “materially worse” for the US crypto industry. Major US crypto exchange Coinbase says it has withdrawn its support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with CEO Brian Armstrong arguing that it would cause far more harm than good to the crypto industry in its current form. “This version would be materially worse than the current status quo. We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill. Hopefully we can all get to a better draft,” Armstrong said in an X post on Wednesday. “After reviewing the Senate Banking draft text over the last 48hrs, Coinbase unfortunately can’t support the bill as written,” Armstrong said. Read more
Bank of America has upgraded Coinbase's rating on reversing short interest and tax-loss harvesting, while the exchange is broadening its vision to put the financial system onchain. Bank of America has joined Goldman Sachs in lifting Coinbase from “neutral” to “buy” this week, citing Coinbase’s lead role in bringing the financial system on-chain and becoming an “everything exchange.” In a research note released on Thursday, BofA said Coinbase’s expansion from trading to tokenizing real-world assets, including stocks and exchange-traded funds, as well as its move into prediction markets, is positioning it to cross-sell more products to new and future users and lead a “new financial system.” BofA said Coinbase (COIN) shares could rise around 38% from their current price to reach $340 as short interest in COIN reverses, while the tax-loss harvesting pressure seen in late Q4 is easing. Read more
How an onchain investigator linked a Coinbase impersonation scam to $2 million in losses and why social engineering remains the real risk. A convincing “Coinbase support” impersonation campaign was linked by onchain investigator ZachXBT to roughly $2 million in stolen crypto. The attribution relied on corroboration across multiple signals, including onchain activity and Telegram or social media footprints rather than a single “magic” transaction. Coinbase says its real support team will never ask for your password or 2FA codes or request that you move funds to a so-called “safe” address. Read more
Coinbase has halted peso-based USDC on- and off-ramps in Argentina less than a year after launch, citing a review of local operations while keeping crypto trading fully active. Crypto exchange Coinbase has paused its local fiat operations in Argentina less than a year after formally entering the market, scaling back peso-based services while keeping its crypto functionality. According to a report by Forbes Argentina, Coinbase informed users that it is temporarily stepping back from maintaining local services following a review of its operations. The company described the move as a “deliberate pause” aimed at reassessing its approach and returning with a more sustainable product offering. The change primarily affects fiat rails. From Jan. 31, 2026, users will no longer be able to buy or sell USDC (USDC) using Argentine pesos (ARS) or withdraw funds to local bank accounts. Coinbase told users they have a 30-day window to complete peso-based USDC transactions and withdrawals before the cutoff date. Read more
The US Genius Act dealt with “structurally simpler” issues than the CLARITY Act, which has yet to be passed into US law, according to a Coinbase executive. The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY Act, is moving along the appropriate timeline despite the crypto industry’s growing impatience, according to a Coinbase executive. “I completely understand why this is taking longer,” Coinbase Institutional head of strategy John D’Agostino said during an interview on CNBC on Friday. “It’s the kind of bill that is quite frankly more foundational for the growth of crypto or any real asset class,” he said, emphasizing that it makes sense for the process to take some time. Read more
Coinbase's "everything exchange" includes an all-in-one platform as competition intensifies among crypto firms chasing the super app model. Coinbase intends to prioritize stablecoins, its Ethereum layer-2 Base and building out its exchange products past cryptocurrencies throughout 2026, according to CEO Brian Armstrong. In a New Year’s social media post Armstrong reaffirmed Coinbase’s “everything exchange” strategy, which includes products like prediction markets, equities and commodities. At its year-end conference in December, Coinbase launched stock trading and prediction markets as part of its push. The company has also rebranded its wallet app as an “everything app,” adding social networking and onchain features. Read more
Coinbase’s head of research said the forces that drove crypto in 2025, such as regulation, ETFs, stablecoins and tokenization, will only get stronger in the coming year. Momentum from crypto exchange-traded funds, stablecoins, tokenization, along with clearer regulations, is set to compound in 2026, accelerating crypto adoption, according to Coinbase’s head of investment research, David Duong. In a year-end wrap-up posted to X on Wednesday, Duong said 2025 saw spot exchange-traded funds create regulated access to crypto, digital asset treasuries emerge as new corporate balance-sheet vehicles, and tokenization and stablecoins moving deeper into core financial workflows. “We expect these forces to compound in 2026 as ETF approval timelines compress, stablecoins take a larger role in delivery-vs-payment (DvP) structures, and tokenized collateral is recognized more broadly across traditional transactions,” he said. Read more
Arkham data shows wallets associated with the Official Trump meme team pulling about $94 million in USDC from TRUMP liquidity pools in December and routing the funds to Coinbase. Onchain analysts tracking the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Solana have flagged large transfers from wallets labeled as parts of the “Official Trump Meme” cluster moving about $94 million in USDC from TRUMP liquidity pools over the past month. The most recent movement, highlighted by blockchain data platform Arkham, involved 33 million USDC (USDC) being withdrawn from liquidity on Tuesday and sent to an entity labeled Fireblocks, which then routed funds to wallets labeled as belonging to Coinbase. Public Solana records on Solscan corroborate the large USDC outflows from TRUMP‑linked wallets. Read more
A Coinbase executive said changes to the GENIUS Act could weaken US dollar stablecoins as China moves to boost the digital yuan by allowing interest-bearing wallets. A senior executive at Coinbase warned that changes to the US stablecoin framework could weaken Washington’s position in the global race for digital payments, just as China moves to make its central bank digital currency (CBDC) more competitive. In a post on X, Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said the debate over whether US-issued stablecoins can offer “rewards” under the GENIUS Act could hurt US dollar stablecoins’ global competitiveness. He pointed to a recent announcement from China’s central bank as evidence that rival financial systems are moving quickly to enhance the appeal of state-backed digital money. The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, this week outlined a framework that will allow commercial banks to pay interest on balances held in digital yuan wallets starting Jan. 1, 2026. Lu Lei, a deputy governor at ...