Coinbase Legal Chief Slams Congressional Standoff On Crypto Bills: 'Start Debating And Stop Politicking'

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal has bashed recent efforts to stonewall the advancement of cryptocurrency bills in Congress.
Cryptocurrency industry participants are in a race against time.
President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures are in focus.

Over the past few weeks, the feeling has been that the cryptocurrency industry was finally set to get long-awaited regulations that would allow it to flourish in the U.S. in line with President Donald Trump‘s pro-cryptocurrency agenda. Now, a standoff in Congress over Trump’s involvement with the industry threatens to put these hopes in doubt.

As tensions rise, executives at Coinbase Global COIN, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country, are calling for action.

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‘Start Debating And Stop Politicking’

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal has bashed recent efforts to stonewall the advancement of cryptocurrency bills in Congress.

“The Senate should start debating and stop politicking –immediately. The House should continue to build on FIT21,” Grewal said in a post Tuesday on X.

On Sunday, several Senate Democrats suddenly pulled support for The Genius Act, a stablecoin bill headed for a floor vote this week. The senators argued that the bill lacked enough anti-money laundering and national security protections, despite four of them voting to advance it out of the banking committee in March. These include Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Mark Warner of Virginia, Lisa Blunt of Delaware and Andy Kim of New Jersey.

Deepening tensions, House Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters of California on Tuesday walked out of a cryptocurrency market structure bill joint hearing of the House Financial Services and Agriculture committees over Trump’s cryptocurrency ties. Waters said she would not allow the hearing to move forward “because of the corruption of the President of the United States and his ownership of crypto.”

According to Grewal, however, “time is wasting.”

“Time is wasting, and American voters will remember if this unique opportunity to act is wasted,” he said

This sentiment comes as cryptocurrency industry participants want lawmakers to get the bills across the finish line before the August Congressional recess. The fear is that failure to pass the bills before the recess could kill the momentum.

“Both chambers need to act now,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a Tuesday X post.

Meanwhile, Bitwise investment chief Matt Hougan warned in a recent note that the cryptocurrency market could be in for a “challenging summer” if lawmakers do not overcome the current divide sparked by Trump’s involvement in the industry.

‘The Crypto President’

On the election campaign trail in 2024, Trump branded himself as “the crypto president.” Months into his administration, one can argue that he has more than lived up to this moniker, expanding his business presence in the industry while advocating for favorable regulations for it.

Just days before his inauguration, Trump stunned even the cryptocurrency industry’s staunchest supporters by launching a memecoin that he has continued to promote while in office. Meanwhile, his decentralized finance venture, World Liberty Financial, boasting what some see as questionable foreign investors, is preparing to launch a stablecoin.

Ethics watchers say both projects could pose a conflict of interest and corruption risk. On Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the ranking member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, launched a probe of the matter..

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