The long-running fight over whether platforms can pay yield on stablecoin balances—the headline sticking point holding up the CLARITY Act—may finally be loosening after a second round of talks with Senate staffers, sources say. That development has reignited optimism that the Senate Banking Committee could mark up the bill by the end of April.
What happened
- Crypto In America reported Monday that industry and banking representatives met with Senate staff late last week to review fresh language on the stablecoin-yield compromise. According to two anonymous sources (one from each side), crypto participants saw the text on Thursday and banks were briefed on Friday.
- Both sources declined to share details of the new language but described themselves as hopeful that a workable solution is now within reach.
What’s been blocking the bill
- Negotiations have centered on whether offering rewards or interest-like returns on stablecoin holdings should be prohibited—directly or indirectly—because such activity could resemble bank deposits and raise safety and regulatory concerns. That dispute has delayed passage of the CLARITY Act for nearly three months.
- A late-March draft that would broadly bar platforms and their affiliates (including exchanges and brokers) from providing yield “economically or functionally equivalent” to interest provoked sharp industry backlash. Coinbase and Stripe were among the vocal critics; Coinbase told Senate offices it could not support the updated draft.
Signs of movement
- Despite earlier pushback, Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal said last Wednesday that Senate negotiators were “very close” to a deal—comments that stirred cautious excitement across the market.
- The revised compromise text was originally expected before Congress’s Easter recess but was pushed back. A Bitcoinist report noted the delay, and a spokesperson for Senator Thom Tillis’s office said releasing the text ahead of markup could give opponents a chance to slow the bill’s progress.
What’s next
- With Congress on break, it’s unclear whether the Banking Committee will publish the latest draft before members return. If the yield question truly moves to the background, Senator Tim Scott said the committee would have roughly two weeks after return to wrap up remaining items—DeFi, tokenization, and token classification—which have reportedly advanced quietly in recent months.
Why it matters
- The outcome on stablecoin yield will shape how platforms can incentivize users, affect the product design of stablecoins and custodial services, and determine how closely crypto firms must align with bank-like restrictions. A resolved compromise would clear a major hurdle for the CLARITY Act and mark a significant step toward comprehensive U.S. crypto market rules.
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