Top-line: The long-stalled Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — the Senate’s top market-structure bill for crypto — may finally be poised to move forward as key senators review a banker-backed compromise on stablecoin rewards, sources familiar with the talks tell CoinDesk.
What’s changed
- Negotiators say momentum is building around the Clarity Act after bankers circulated fresh legislative language this week addressing the hot-button issue of stablecoin yield. That language appears to reflect what banks would accept and is being evaluated by senators who previously hesitated.
- Tensions between crypto industry insiders and bank representatives have been high in recent weeks. The debate boiled over publicly this week, with competing claims about whether the Clarity Act could undercut the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act — the earlier stablecoin law that already passed.
Political heat and public sparring
- Former President Donald Trump, after meeting Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, posted on Truth Social that banks were trying to use the Clarity Act to weaken the GENIUS Act. He framed the earlier bill as America’s “first big step” to become the world’s crypto capital and urged the Clarity Act be completed to keep the industry in the U.S.
- Eric Trump, an adviser at World Liberty Financial Inc. (a firm with Trump family ties and a stablecoin business), blasted banks on X as “anti-consumer and straight-up anti-American” for opposing higher yields and customer rewards.
- The White House has also weighed in, and Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said presidential engagement encouraging banks to negotiate in good faith “adds important momentum.”
Banks’ position
- Bank lobbyists argue U.S. banking and lending depend on deposit stability, and that a crypto alternative to deposit accounts could threaten the system — a line of argument that resonated with Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). Those two senators’ concerns have largely determined whether the Senate Banking Committee will advance the bill.
A likely compromise
- Sources say an emerging deal would permit a narrow range of stablecoin rewards but stop short of allowing yield that resembles bank savings interest — broadly consistent with positions Tillis and Alsobrooks have favored.
- In a CNBC interview, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon signaled his industry’s openness to allowing some rewards on stablecoin activity and transactions, provided payouts don’t mirror savings-account interest. Dimon also emphasized that crypto firms functioning like deposit-takers should face the same stringent regulation as banks.
Industry reaction and next steps
- Crypto groups are cautiously optimistic the Clarity Act can start moving as soon as next week. Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber, said Senator Tillis has been receptive in talks about stablecoin yield and expressed optimism for a “yes” vote.
- If the Senate Banking Committee approves the bill in a markup, its text will be merged with an earlier version that already passed the Senate Agriculture Committee on a party-line vote. The combined bill will need meaningful Democratic support to clear the full Senate.
- Time is tight: Senate floor time is limited and lawmakers will begin dispersing for the 2026 midterm campaign season this summer, leaving only a narrow window — likely a few months — to advance the Clarity Act this year.
What to watch
- Whether the Banking Committee schedules a markup and whether the final compromise language satisfies Tillis, Alsobrooks and enough Democrats to win broader Senate backing. If those boxes are checked quickly, the Clarity Act could finally move from negotiation to committee action.
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