Trump Holds Private Meeting With Coinbase CEO Armstrong

Donald Trump held a private meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shortly before posting on Truth Social that banks are trying to undermine the pro-crypto GENIUS Act and must "reach a good agreement with the crypto industry," CoinDesk reported citing Politico and two people familiar with the discussion. Trump called for swift completion of U.S. market structure rules and warned that without progress on the CLARITY Act, America's "strong crypto agenda" and related business could shift to China, while criticizing major banks for booking historic profits as Americans should "earn more from their own money." The Crypto Market Structure Act remains stalled after the Senate Banking Committee's planned markup, with banks arguing interest-bearing stablecoins could weaken deposits and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon calling to regulate issuers like banks, rebutted by Patrick Witt of the President's Advisory Committee on Digital Assets who said the GENIUS Act reasonably lets users earn rewards on stablecoin balances. COIN shares rallied above $200 on Wednesday to their highest level since late January amid a broader crypto-related stock surge, while the White House and Coinbase did not comment on the meeting whose exact content remains unclear.