Coinbase CEO Pushes Back on UK Stablecoin Caps as Token Profits Surge

In brief Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said Tuesday that the Bank of England's proposed stablecoin caps would make the UK an "innovation blocker" in digital finance. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates Coinbase's stablecoin revenue could grow two to sevenfold under the U.S. GENIUS Act, depending on final rulemaking. Armstrong last month torpedoed the CLARITY Act hours before a Senate vote, saying he would "rather have no bill than a bad bill." Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned Tuesday that the Bank of England's proposed stablecoin caps risk costing the UK its status as a global financial hub, as the exchange simultaneously battles regulators and lawmakers in Washington over rules that could make or break its growing revenue stream. "Stablecoin rules in the UK are being finalized, and are at risk of preventing the UK from being globally competitive in the digital economy," Armstrong wrote Tuesday on X . "The current direction of the rules does the opposite, and will act as an innovation blocker." His post amplified a petition by Stand With Crypto UK, a trade advocacy group seeded by Coinbase in 2023, which has gathered more than 80,000 signatures ahead of its March 3 deadline, calling on the British government to "drive a pro-innovation stablecoin and tokenization regulatory regime" and appoint a blockchain and crypto czar.  Last year, the Bank of England proposed capping individual stablecoin holdings at $26,350 (£20,000) and business holdings at $12.7 million ( £10 million), while requiring 40% of reserves be held in non-interest-bearing central bank accounts, a plan British lawmakers warned would “deter innovation, limit adoption, and push activity overseas.” Meanwhile, Coinbase earned $1.35 billion in stablecoin revenue in 2025, up from $911 million the prior year, with $364 million coming in the fourth quarter alone, in a period that included a net loss of $667 million and total Q4 revenue of $1.78 billion. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts estimate that figure could expand anywhere from two to sevenfold under the U.S. GENIUS Act, the landmark legislation that created America's first federal stablecoin framework and permitted crypto companies to offer holders a generous yield on their deposits. When asked whether Coinbase’s policy positions are driven more by economic incentives or systemic risk concerns, Clearpool COO Steven Wu told Decrypt the issue is “broader than one company’s revenue,” noting the real question is “whether regulation focuses on managing risk properly, rather than limiting scale.” If the Bloomberg projection materializes, it signals that stablecoins will become “core financial infrastructure, not a niche crypto product,” and in that scenario, hard caps on holdings could “limit the UK’s ability to capture meaningful liquidity and institutional participation.” The yield question has become a point of contention as America's banking lobby, alarmed that interest-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits away from traditional accounts, pushed successfully to include yield restrictions in the CLARITY Act , a broader market structure bill the Trump administration has declared a top legislative priority , pressing for passage by spring. The draft legislation extended the ban to exchanges like Coinbase, directly threatening its revenue-sharing agreement with Circle Internet Group, through which Coinbase collects a cut of the interest USDC ’s reserves generate. Last month, Armstrong pulled the company's support for the CLARITY Act just hours before a Senate Banking Committee markup, declaring the draft 'materially worse than the current status quo' and that he would 'rather have no bill than a bad bill.' Despite the fallout, the Trump administration has kept Coinbase at the table, with White House officials convening another meeting last week with banking representatives and the Crypto Council for Innovation to address stablecoin yield, though no agreement has yet been announced. Daily Debrief Newsletter Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more. Your Email Get it! Get it!