Popular journalist Eleanor Terrett reported earlier today that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing its support for the cryptocurrency market structure bill entirely if Coinbase doesn’t return for negotiations. The exchange and its CEO blamed banks for intervening and pushing for changes that prevent or limit users from earning yields on stablecoins. However, other industry experts disagreed.
White House Threatens
By citing a source close to the Trump administration, Terrett said the White House expects Coinbase to return with a more suitable agreement that “satisfies the banks and gets everyone to a deal.” She explained that the administration is “said to be furious” with the exchange’s “unilateral” decision on Wednesday, as they reportedly didn’t notify in advance. Moreover, the White House reportedly called the move a “rug pull” against it and the rest of the crypto industry.
🚨SCOOP: The White House is considering pulling its support for the crypto market structure bill entirely if @coinbase does not come back to the table with a yield agreement that satisfies the banks and gets everyone to a deal, a source close to the Trump administration tells me…
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) January 17, 2026
The source further asserted that this is “President Trump’s bill at the end of the day, not Brian Armstrong’s.”
Recall that Coinbase pulled its support earlier this week after blaming banks for implementing too many changes that tend to limit users from earning yields on stablecoins. CEO Armstrong outlined numerous issues with the current draft, including:
- •A de facto ban on tokenized equities
- •DeFi prohibitions, giving the government unlimited access to your financial records and removing your right to privacy
- •Erosion of the CFTC’s authority, stifling innovation, and making it subservient to the SEC
- •Draft amendments that would kill rewards on stablecoins, allowing banks to ban their competition
Undermining the Bill?
Coinbase’s decision caused a lot of controversy outside and inside the cryptocurrency industry. While some experts, such as Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse, remained mostly on the sidelines, others, such as Citron Research, directly blamed Armstrong for undermining the bill. They argued that Coinbase’s official reasoning shows fear of competition from tokenized securities firms, as it seeks to benefit from regulatory clarity without opening the door to rivals.
The Senate Banking Committee postponed its scheduled markup of the bill on January 15, and no new date has been set yet.