Senators negotiating the Clarity Act could release draft compromise text regarding stablecoin yields as soon as this week, according to Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC).
Tillis, who is working alongside Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), said Monday that progress has been made on anti-evasion measures. He noted that enforcement remains a primary focus for the negotiating team.
The dispute centers on whether crypto exchanges can legally offer rewards programs to stablecoin holders. This disagreement has stalled the broader market structure bill for months.
Banking groups are already contesting the framework. The American Bankers Association (ABA) criticized a recent White House Council of Economic Advisers report, claiming the analysis "studied the wrong question."
Banking Lobby Challenges Economic Projections
The ABA argued the White House report underestimates risk by using the current $300 billion stablecoin market as a baseline. The group believes the impact will be much larger once the market scales to between $1 trillion and $2 trillion.
However, Simon Jones, co-founder and CEO of Reya, argued the White House findings undermine the banking sector's claims.
"When the White House's own economists run the numbers and conclude that allowing stablecoin yield would increase bank lending by just 0.02%, it's very hard to sustain the argument that this is a serious systemic threat," Jones said.
Legislators face a shrinking window to pass the Clarity Act. Some senators warn the bill must pass by May to avoid dying before the midterms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently urged lawmakers to finalize the deal, labeling crypto firms that oppose compromise as "nihilists."
Industry experts warn that overly strict rules could drive business away from the United States. Pierre Person, CEO of Fira, said a restrictive approach would push liquidity toward foreign jurisdictions.
"The real policy question is not whether stablecoin holders will receive yield, but where, and under whose supervision," Person said.
If the new text restricts yield, it could force exchanges like Coinbase to restructure existing programs. Currently, Coinbase maintains an arrangement with Circle that pays users roughly 4% annual yield on USDC holdings.
