Crypto Exchanges Allegedly Urged US Lawmakers to Remove Risky Token Provision

Three companies reportedly urged US senators to revise a crypto bill by removing wording that would have required trading platforms to list only tokens “not readily susceptible to manipulation.”

Earlier in 2026, while the US Senate reviewed a digital asset market structure bill, crypto exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini reportedly pushed lawmakers to remove wording in the proposal that could impact their token listings.

A Friday Politico report stated that the three exchanges urged US lawmakers to drop a provision from the market structure bill that would require platforms to trade only digital assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” The firms reportedly pushed senators to eliminate the wording because it could make listing smaller tokens more difficult for exchanges.

The revision, which Politico said came after the US Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the bill in January, highlighted the growing influence crypto firms could wield through communications with the Trump administration and lawmakers on industry-related legislation. Hours after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued that the exchange could not back the bill “as written” over concerns tied to tokenized equities, the US Senate Banking Committee delayed its markup on the proposal.

Under the market structure proposal, known as the CLARITY Act after it cleared the US House of Representatives in July 2025, broader authority over digital asset oversight and regulation would be granted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In March, both the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced plans to coordinate supervision of the crypto sector, despite Congress not taking formal action.

Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad reacted to the report on social media, describing it as “old news” and noting that the issue had already been included in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup process.

Industry Leaders and Lawmakers Debate Timeline for Crypto Market Structure Bill

Last week, two US senators revealed a compromise agreement on stablecoin yield involving representatives from both the crypto and banking sectors, a move that could help the CLARITY Act progress through the banking committee. While several lawmakers said they planned to seek ethics provisions addressing possible conflicts of interest in the legislation, many observers believe the bill could pass within weeks.

Coinbase US policy vice president Kara Calvert said on Thursday that the exchange anticipated a banking committee markup by next week. Several lawmakers also predicted the bill could become law before the Senate begins its August recess, while White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt stated that the administration was targeting a July 4 deadline for House approval following a Senate vote in June.