New York, January 22, 2026, 21:18 ET
- Shares of Coinbase slipped roughly 1.7% in after-hours trading, closing at $223.14
- Senate Agriculture Chair Boozman scheduled a markup for Jan. 27 on the digital commodities bill
- Coinbase launched staked ether vault transfers specifically for Prime clients. The company will report Q4 earnings on Feb. 12.
Coinbase Global shares dipped in after-hours trading Thursday, as investors digested new efforts in Washington to overhaul crypto regulations. The stock last traded down roughly 1.7% at $223.14, within a session range of $223.03 to $230.74. (TechStock²)
The next hurdle is Jan. 27, when Senate Agriculture Committee chair John Boozman will hold a markup session — where the committee can amend and vote on legislation — aimed at boosting the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s power over “digital commodities.” “It’s time we move this bill,” Boozman said. (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture)
For Coinbase, the debate hits right at its product lineup. Stablecoins — tokens tied to the dollar — now play a major role in crypto trading and payments. IMF deputy managing director Dan Katz cautioned at Davos that broader stablecoin adoption could exert “competitive pressure” on fragile fiscal and monetary systems. (Reuters)
Boozman’s revised proposal, the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, aims to establish a federal framework for overseeing the offer and sale of digital commodities through the CFTC. (U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture)
A Lowenstein Sandler newsletter noted the draft targets cash and spot trades—transactions that settle immediately—while excluding permitted payment stablecoins and classifying “meme coins” as digital commodities. It also highlighted a faster registration process for crypto exchanges, brokers, and dealers. (Lowenstein Sandler)
A separate Senate Banking Committee market-structure bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, hit a roadblock last week after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong pulled the company’s backing, calling the bill “worse” than the status quo. Armstrong argued it would weaken CFTC authority and “kill” stablecoin reward programs, adding, “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” Banking chair Tim Scott responded that lawmakers were “working in good faith” on revisions. (Reuters)
Crypto prices remained under pressure: bitcoin hovered near $89,772, while ether slipped to about $2,962, both closing the day down.
Wider risk swings have intensified the nervous mood, spurred by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats targeting several European nations linked to Greenland. Reuters reported that such a move could create headaches for U.S. customs enforcement if implemented. (Reuters)
Coinbase is ramping up its institutional infrastructure. On Jan. 21, it announced Prime clients can now move entire staked ether vaults offchain, sidestepping Ethereum’s exit queue and unlocking liquidity for reward-earning positions that help run the network. “Clients don’t have to choose between rewards and liquidity,” said Lewis Han, Coinbase’s head of staking sales. Galaxy’s Harry Austin added it would provide “deep, programmatic liquidity.” (Coinbase)
The company also highlighted risks down the road. Coinbase announced the formation of an independent advisory board focused on quantum computing, cautioning that advanced quantum machines might one day break the cryptography securing key blockchains. The panel features University of Texas at Austin professor Scott Aaronson and Stanford cryptographer Dan Boneh, among others. (Coinbase)
Coinbase is set to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings on Feb. 12, following the market close. The company will also host a webcast at 2:30 p.m. PT that same day. (Business Wire)
Crypto firms are making another run at public markets amid the policy push. BitGo priced its U.S. IPO at $18 this week, pulling in $212.8 million and setting a $2.08 billion valuation for the custody firm, Reuters reported. The company will trade on the NYSE under the ticker “BTGO.” Reuters also noted that Kraken, the exchange operator, is considering going public sometime this year. (Reuters)
The road map remains uncertain. Should Congress delay action or impose tougher limits on stablecoin rewards and staking than anticipated, Coinbase might face another setback amid the ongoing volatility in crypto prices and trading news that continue to rattle risk appetite.
