Representatives from crypto and banking groups returned to the White House on Thursday in another attempt to resolve the key dispute blocking long-awaited crypto market structure legislation, known as the CLARITY Act.
Despite the Senate Banking Committee’s positive vote on this part of the legislation, the bill has already faced delays and is now stalled due to disagreements over whether stablecoin issuers and platforms should be allowed to offer returns or rewards to users.
Coinbase, Ripple signal progress
At the center of the debate is the push by some senators and banking industry representatives to include in the legislation a provision prohibiting companies from paying rewards to customers for holding stablecoins on their platforms.
Some crypto proponents hope that lawmakers can distinguish between the return on holding stablecoins and the rewards for using them, similar to incentive programs long offered by credit card companies. They argue that usage-based rewards should be treated differently from interest payments.
After Thursday’s meeting, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer describe discussions as productive. “The dialogue was constructive and the tone cooperative. More to come,” Grewal wrote in an article on X.
Ripple’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, echoed this sentiment: adage on social media, participants worked on specific legislative language and that discussions would continue in the coming days. “Let’s do this right and make the United States the crypto capital of the world!” » Alderoty wrote.
90% chance crypto bill will pass by April
The resumption of negotiations comes shortly after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed growing confidence in the bill’s progress. Garlinghouse said he now estimates there is a 90% chance the law will be passed by the end of April.
“I had said a few weeks ago, I thought late April — at the time, people thought that was a little optimistic,” he noted, referring to the White House meeting involving executives from the crypto and banking industries.
The White House has set a March 1 deadline to resolve the dispute over stablecoin awards, adding urgency to the negotiations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that timeline last week, urging Congress to move forward with the legislation this spring.
Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
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