Washington just made its priorities clear — and they lean traditional finance.
Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks dropped compromise language Friday on the final sticking point in the CLARITY Act: stablecoin yield. The deal effectively shuts the door on crypto firms offering yield that looks or feels like a bank deposit, banning anything “functionally or economically equivalent.”
What’s left? Limited rewards tied to actual platform usage — a narrow lane the industry has been lobbying for since early this year.
The message from the White House was immediate. Crypto adviser Patrick Witt called it “go time,” signaling alignment across regulators and lawmakers. Senator Cynthia Lummis is pushing for a May markup in the Senate Banking Committee, while Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong kept it simple: “Mark it up.”
Industry groups — including the Digital Chamber, Circle, and the Crypto Council for Innovation — quickly lined up behind the compromise, suggesting the fight has shifted from shaping the bill to securing passage.
But the clock is tight. Polymarket currently prices the odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 at just 48%, with fewer than 10 Senate working weeks left before midterm politics take over.
Bottom line: The compromise preserves stablecoins — but strips away their biggest competitive threat to banks.