Coinbase executive John D’Agostino stated that the United States should not fall behind because the market structure bill will be transformative.
- Coinbase executive John D’Agostino stated that crypto market structure reform is likely in 2026, but timelines are uncertain due to the complexity of the legislation.
- He stated that the GENIUS Act was "transformative" but focused on specific issues rather than larger market structure bills.
- Congress is expected to act in response to global regulatory progress in Europe and the UAE, as well as a projected talent exodus from the US by 2024.
Coinbase Institutional Head of Strategy, John D’Agostino, said on Friday that he understands the CLARITY Act's delay.
Speaking to CNBC, D’Agostino said crypto market-structure legislation, also called the CLARITY ACT, is slower by design, unlike the GENIUS Act. John D’Agostino framed the CLARITY Act delay as a market structure issue, saying that bills that define how an entire market is regulated take longer than narrower crypto rules. “Market structure is complicated,” said D’Agostino.
Coinbase Executive Warns US Risks Falling Behind Global Peers
Given that the market structure act is a broad rulebook for how the crypto industry is regulated, including how different crypto assets are categorized and which agencies oversee trading activity, D’Agostino sees it fit to say, “It should take a bit more time.”
He pointed to other jurisdictions moving faster with full frameworks, including Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the UAE’s regulations, as examples of places where clearer rulebooks are already in place for crypto businesses.
“This is the kind of bill that is more foundational for the growth of crypto — or any real asset class,” the executive said. “We really don’t want the U.S. to fall as far behind as it has on transformational technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain. That desire to maintain parity, and hopefully dominance, should ultimately overcome disagreements over the minutiae of market structure,” he added.
For Coinbase, a U.S. market structure law matters because the CLARITY Act clarifies how “digital commodities” and related market activity are regulated and how responsibilities are shared across agencies, which can influence which products can be offered and how platforms register and operate.
According to D’Agostino, that kind of clarity helps non-crypto-native businesses and financial institutions engage with the crypto ecosystem through regulated channels, including exchanges, custody, and infrastructure services.
Coinbase (COIN) traded at $236.53, up nearly 5% on Friday. After hours, the stock is up 0.57%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Coinbase remained in ‘bearish’ territory, with chatter levels changing from ‘low’ to ‘normal’, over the past day.
What Is The CLARITY Act?
The CLARITY Act refers to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 (H.R. 3633), which proposes a U.S. regulatory framework for “digital commodities” and assigns roles to both the SEC and the CFTC. While the bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 17, 2025, by a vote of 294 to 134, it has not yet been enacted into law because it still needs Senate approval.
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