Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says stablecoins allow spending and earning in one account, challenging banks. The company reported $355M in stablecoin revenue in Q3.
Brian Armstrong has a message for the banking industry: your product is worse, and you know it.
The Coinbase CEO has been arguing that stablecoins offer something traditional bank accounts cannot. A single account where users can both spend and earn yield on their holdings. Banks have described stablecoin rewards as a threat to consumer safety. Armstrong called that a “boogeyman” issue, suggesting financial institutions are more worried about losing deposits than protecting customers.
Banks use a fractional reserve model. They take deposits and lend most of them out, pocketing the spread on the difference. Stablecoins flip that dynamic, Armstrong said. Yields from the assets backing the tokens, often US Treasuries, flow more directly to the holder. He called it “onchain interest.”
The banking industry has pushed back hard. Their argument centers on the risk of deposit outflows if stablecoin issuers can offer yield-bearing products without the same regulatory burden. Armstrong frames it as incumbents trying to regulate away competition rather than compete on merit.
Congress has been wrestling with stablecoin regulation through bills like the CLARITY Act, which aims to establish clearer market structure rules for crypto operations. By mid-2026, banks received concessions in legislative negotiations, particularly around reward limits on idle stablecoin balances. Armstrong said a level regulatory playing field is what matters most. If stablecoin issuers have to follow consumer protection rules, fine. Those rules should not be designed specifically to handicap crypto products. Banks should not be protected from having to innovate.
Coinbase’s stablecoin business is not a side project. The company reported $355 million in stablecoin-related revenue in Q3 2025 alone. That revenue is more predictable than trading fees and less dependent on market volatility, according to the company’s filings.
Armstrong predicted traditional financial institutions will lobby for the ability to pay interest on their own stablecoin products once they realize the market is moving with or without them. The debate is not isolated. The Visa, BlackRock stablecoin push has topped crypto KOL sentiment recently.
Coinbase posted $355 million in stablecoin revenue in the third quarter.
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