Top officials in the Donald Trump administration have criticized Coinbase for withdrawing support from the stalled crypto market structure bill. However, World Liberty Financial—co-founded by President Trump—publicly supports Coinbase‘s stance, as both companies have significant interests in preserving stablecoin reward programs currently under legislative threat.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has labeled crypto executives who reject non-ideal legislation as “nihilists” and suggested they should “move to El Salvador.” This criticism targeted figures like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong after his company walked away from the bill last month. The move reportedly caught Congress and the White House off-guard, prompting the cancellation of a key Senate vote.
Contrasting the administration’s position, World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff praised Armstrong at a recent conference, stating, “We applaud you.” The company’s co-founder, Zak Folkman, later stated, “We are very much aligned with their way of thinking about this.” Both firms offer yield on their respective stablecoins, USDC and USD1, a feature banks are pushing to outlaw.
The legislation’s evolving language concerning stablecoin rewards is the central point of contention. Coinbase offers users yield on its USDC stablecoin, while World Liberty’s future apps and platforms depend on users earning rewards on its USD1 token. Despite the White House’s frustration, Coinbase remains involved in high-level negotiations due to its industry stature.
Passage of the market structure bill by spring is a stated top priority for the Trump administration. If the bill fails, stablecoin rewards would likely remain legal under the previously passed GENIUS Act. Regarding the apparent split, Folkman emphasized World Liberty’s independence, saying, “We’re on the outside here, watching this whole thing unfold the same way everybody else is.”
