Finally some clarity? Senators, White House strike deal to end crypto-banking standoff

The crypto industry is edging closer to getting its landmark legislation after US senators said they had agreed to strike an “agreement in principle” with the White House over key language in a bill regarding stablecoins, according to a report.

Language in the Clarity Act related to the digital tokens could be changed to “prevent widespread deposit flight”, senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks told Politico on Friday.

Alsobrooks added she thought the agreement in principle would not only prevent deposit flight but “protect innovation” in the US.

The comments come as crypto executives, US banking representatives and regulators hash out the Clarity Act at the White House and US President Donald Trump urges them to get the legislation over the line.

Banks holding Clarity hostage?

The bill, which aims to set in stone digital asset regulation, has been in a deadlock over stablecoins and the yield they will potentially pay customers.

Crypto industry players — including the US’ biggest crypto exchange, Coinbase — want to pay their customers rewards on the tokens they hold.

But banking representatives have warned they could lose their deposit base as a result as customers flock to more attractive offers from crypto exchanges.

Coinbase pulled support for the bill in January. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon this month said crypto companies like Coinbase should be regulated like banks if they want to pay stablecoin rewards.

Trump sided with the crypto industry this month when he demanded the bill get passed.

“The Banks should not be trying to undercut The Genius Act, or hold The Clarity Act hostage,” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

“They need to make a good deal with the Crypto Industry because that’s what’s in best interest of the American People,” he added.

DL News reached out to Senator Alsobrooks and Tillis for comment.

More crypto-friendly legislation

Clearer crypto guidance arrived this week after the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a landmark interpretation of federal securities laws.

Wall Street’s top regulator’s new guidance put cryptocurrencies into two categories: tokenised securities and so-called non-security crypto assets.

Assets like XRP and Solana were finally categorised as commodities.

The new rules will unlikely be overturned, crypto lobbyists told DL News.

Since President Trump took the White House, a number of pro-crypto bills have been signed and the SEC has taken a markedly different approach to watchdogging the space.

Mathew Di Salvo is a news correspondent with DL News. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].