Author: CoinDesk

Translated by: Shenchao TechFlow

Introduction: CoinDesk exclusively confirmed a key timeline: Coinbase CEO Armstrong first met privately with Trump, after which Trump publicly criticized banks for obstructing the crypto bill on Truth Social.

This clue directly reveals the lobbying path behind Trump's statements and clarifies the legislative struggle between the crypto industry and the banking sector.

The full text is as follows:

Key points:

• Before publicly accusing banks of undermining the pro-crypto GENIUS Act and calling for the advancement of the CLARITY Act, Trump had a private meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.
• The meeting was first disclosed by Politico, occurring shortly before Trump posted on Truth Social that banks "need to make a good deal with the crypto industry" to push stalled digital asset legislation on Capitol Hill.
• This crypto market structure bill has been stalled due to warnings from the banking industry that interest-bearing stablecoins could erode deposits and lending capacity, while crypto companies argue that the GENIUS Act reasonably allows consumers to earn rewards from stablecoin holdings.

CoinDesk confirmed that U.S. President Trump had a closed-door meeting with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, shortly after which Trump posted on Truth Social stating that banks were trying to undermine the GENIUS Act.

"America needs to complete market structure legislation as soon as possible. Americans should earn more money from their own funds," Trump wrote in a post on Tuesday. "The major banks are recording historic profits, and we will not allow them to undermine our strong crypto agenda—if we do not advance the CLARITY Act, all of this will flow to China and other countries."

Politico first reported the meeting between Armstrong and Trump. Following that, Trump publicly supported Coinbase's position in the "ongoing lobbying battle with banks," which has led to a significant crypto bill being stalled.

The media cited "two informed sources" as the source of information, stating that they discussed the closed-door event anonymously. The report also pointed out that it is still unclear what specifically was discussed in the meeting.

However, the report reiterated, "The meeting occurred shortly before Trump stated on social media that banks 'need to make a good deal with the crypto industry'," which was a critical point in pushing stalled digital asset legislation on Capitol Hill.

Both the White House and Coinbase did not respond to CoinDesk's request for comment.

This market structure bill has remained unresolved since the Senate Banking Committee's originally scheduled debate and vote. The core disagreement hindering the bill's passage is that banks believe stablecoin interest rates could affect bank deposits and thereby influence their lending capacity; crypto exchanges argue that users should have the right to earn rewards from their stablecoin holdings, which the GENIUS Act explicitly allows.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stated on Tuesday that stablecoin issuers paying interest on customer deposit balances should be regulated like banks. Patrick Harker, Executive Director of the President's Advisory Council on Digital Assets, countered this by saying, "What truly needs bank-like regulation is not the act of paying yields on balances, but the act of lending or re-collateralizing the dollars that constitute the underlying balances." Harker also stated that the GENIUS Act "explicitly prohibits stablecoin issuers from engaging in the latter. Stablecoins ≠ deposits."

Crypto-related stocks saw a significant increase on Wednesday along with a broad rebound in the crypto market, with COIN breaking above $200, reaching its highest price since the end of January.