There is a little relief that the stalled crypto market structure bill, the CLARITY Act, may soon regain momentum.
On March 20, Patrick Witt, President Donald Trump’s top crypto advisor, confirmed that the Senate and White House had reached an “agreement in principle” to move the bill forward.
Witt hailed the agreement as a “major step” in unlocking the bill and thanked Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) for brokering the deal. He added,
There is still work to be done to resolve this and other outstanding issues, but this is a major step toward passing the CLARITY Act.
With bipartisan support now assured, the ball will be in the banking sector’s court. At the time of writing, neither the Bank Policy Institute (BPI) nor the American Bankers Association (ABA) had yet released a statement on the deal.
So what is it all about?
Agreement details
The Digital Marketplace Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) passed the House last July. However, it has been stuck in the Senate since January 2026 due to the stablecoin yield issue.
The banking industry feared that the stable reward loophole in the GENIUS Act would trigger a deposit flight. In response, he opposed the CLARITY Act unless the problem was resolved. There have been three negotiations to finalize a yield agreement between the banking sector and the crypto industry. But not all of them managed to solve the problem.
The latest stablecoin yield compromise now seeks to lock rewards on passive stablecoin balances. This would address banks’ deposit flight concerns, as payment stablecoins will not function like an interest-bearing savings account.
At the same time, activity-based rewards will be allowed for transfers, remittances, platform utility and others. Negotiators say this would ensure that innovation is not stifled. It is not yet known whether the banks will accept this compromise.
But a part of the crypto industry was not entirely happy with it. Some executives, like Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, called for more flexibility on what attracts yield.
It is important that Congress and regulators remain flexible in determining which activities allow the payment of interest or returns.
Path to passage
If the banks support the compromise, the Senate Banking Committee will likely make another formal mark-up to move the bill forward. This would probably happen after the Easter holidays.
However, it remains unclear whether the bill will be brought to the Senate for a vote and then reconciled by the House before the US elections.
According to Kristin Smith from the Solana Policy Institute, the bill has until the August recess to move forward.
Final summary
- The Senate and White House have reached a partisan agreement on a stablecoin yield compromise that could reignite momentum for the CLARITY Act.
- It remains to be seen whether the banking sector will support the stablecoin yield agreement.
