In early 2026, major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini reportedly lobbied to remove a key provision from a pending digital asset market structure bill in the Senate. The provision would have required exchanges to only list digital assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation,” a rule the companies argued could hinder the listing of smaller tokens. This effort highlighted the industry’s influence as lawmakers worked on the legislation, known as the CLARITY Act.
Major U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini pressed lawmakers to scrap language in a market structure bill that could have affected token listings. According to a report, the companies asked for removal of a provision requiring platforms to offer trading only on assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.”
The edit occurred after the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its version of the bill in January. This signaled the influence crypto companies communicating with the Trump administration and lawmakers could have on industry legislation.
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee postponed its markup on the bill hours after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange could not support the legislation “as written.” He cited concerns with tokenized equities within the proposed framework.
Under the bill, called the CLARITY Act when it passed the House in July 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would gain more regulatory authority over digital assets. Both the CFTC and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced their intent to coordinate crypto oversight in March.
Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad responded to the lobbying report on social media. He called it “old news” and an issue included in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup.
Last week, two U.S. senators announced a compromise deal on stablecoin yield between crypto and banking industry representatives. This compromise could allow the CLARITY Act to advance in the banking committee.
Coinbase‘s U.S. policy vice president, Kara Calvert, said the exchange expected a banking committee markup by the next week. Other lawmakers predicted the bill would become law before the Senate’s August recess.
