Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong faced a frosty reception from top Wall Street bank chiefs in Davos as he lobbied against a key Senate crypto bill. During meetings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Armstrong reportedly approached several Wall Street leaders to discuss the crypto market structure bill moving through Congress, according to a report the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The reception was icy. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Armstrong, “You are full of s—,” according to people familiar with the exchange who spoke with the WSJ.
Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan sat for 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 refused to engage, saying there was “nothing for them to talk about.” Citigroup’s Jane Fraser gave him under a minute. The frost comes as Armstrong has turned sharply against the Senate’s crypto bill.
After reviewing a draft, he announced on X that Coinbase “can’t support the bill as written.” He later warned that traditional banks were lobbying to protect their turf by targeting stablecoin rewards — recurring payouts to users who hold tokens like USDC. Armstrong says the answer is simple: compete. The legislation, known as the CLARITY Act, could determine who gets to offer these products — and under what rules.
Its outcome could reset the playing field between banks and crypto platforms. Coinbase maintains partnerships with major banks, including JPMorgan and Citi. CoinDesk reached out to Coinbase, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup for comment but none was received by press time.
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