Coinbase's Chief Policy Officer on Why He Believes the Clarity Act Will Pass

Coinbase's chief policy officer explains why the bank lobby failed to kill stablecoin rewards — and what 'workable compromise' actually means for crypto users.

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The Genius Act established that stablecoin issuers could pay rewards to users. The banks said no. For months, the American Bankers Association used the Clarity Act as a pressure point to reverse that decision — tying up a bill that was supposed to govern an entirely different corner of crypto. Now there's compromise language. Coinbase's chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, says it's workable. The banks say it doesn't go far enough.

Meanwhile, the Clarity Act itself is racing toward a July 4th deadline, with a Senate Banking Committee markup expected the week of May 14. Ethics provisions around government officials holding crypto assets remain the hardest open question — and, as Shirzad puts it, one entirely above his pay grade.

This is where the biggest crypto legislation in US history actually stands.

Host:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Laura Shin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Host / Unchained

Guests:

• Faryar Shirzad (@faryarshirzad) — Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase

Timestamps 🎙️ 0:00 Introduction 💰 0:43 What the Clarity Act's stablecoin rewards compromise means in practice 🏦 4:04 What the banks got, what crypto kept — and why rewards are still workable ⚖️ 7:51 The American Bankers Association pushes back — is this fight really over? 🔵 13:36 Coinbase One ad: Get 20% off the first year of your Coinbase One annual plan 🔒 14:58 Adaptive Security ad: Run deep fake AI generated phishing and vising simulations 📋 15:55 Getting the Clarity Act over the finish line — what's still unresolved? 🔑 18:54 Remaining issues, such as ethics, SEC exemptive relief, whether DeFi apps are money transmitters 🗓️ 28:27 Can the Clarity Act pass by July 4th? What happens if it doesn't? 🌍 32:33 What's next after the Clarity Act — taxes, rulemaking, and global expansion

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