Coinbase (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong is running into a wall – and it looks a lot like the heads of America’s biggest banks.
During meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Armstrong reportedly approached several Wall Street leaders to discuss the crypto market structure moving through Congress, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Thursday.
The reception was icy cold.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Armstrong, “You’re full of s—,” according to people familiar with the exchange who spoke to the WSJ.
Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan sat in on a 30-minute meeting but dismissed Armstrong’s position, saying, “If you want to be a bank, just be a bank.” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf declined to get involved, saying there was nothing for them to talk about. Citigroup’s Jane Fraser gave him under a minute.
The freeze comes as Armstrong has turned sharply against the Senate’s crypto bill. After reviewing a draft, he informed X that Coinbase “cannot support the bill as written.” He later warned that traditional banks are lobbying to protect their turf by targeting stablecoin rewards — recurring payouts to users who hold tokens like USDC.
These rewards work like interest-bearing accounts, but typically offer higher returns – up to 3.5%. Banks argue they pose a threat to deposit-based models that fund lending and other core services. If users switch en masse to stablecoins, the impact on local lending and smaller banks could be significant. Armstrong says the answer is simple: compete.
The legislation, known as the CLARITY Act, could determine who can offer these products — and under what rules. Its outcome could reset the playing field between banks and crypto platforms.
Yet the line between the two industries is not as sharp as the public battle suggests. Coinbase maintains partnerships with major banks, including JPMorgan and Citi. That makes the current dispute less about total disruption and more about who sets the terms for the next phase of the digital economy.
CoinDesk reached out to Coinbase, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup for comment, but none were received by press time.
