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The **CLARITY Act** Stalemate Reaches Fever Pitch, Banks and Crypto Industry Dig In, White House Calls for Compromise by End of MonthBlockBeats News, February 14th, the deadlock over stablecoin yields in the U.S. Senate's Crypto Market Structure Bill (the "CLARITY Act") has now escalated, with the crypto camp insisting that user rewards are indispensable.
This week, despite urging from Trump administration officials to seek a compromise, another White House meeting between Wall Street bankers and crypto executives ended in failure. The banking side took a hard line, arguing that any form of stablecoin yield or reward is unacceptable, stating that such yields would threaten the core of the U.S. banking system—the deposit business. They outlined their position in a one-page paper titled "Principle of Yield and Interest Prohibition."
The Digital Chamber took a tough stance and on Friday released its own set of principles, supporting the terms outlined in the Senate Banking Committee's draft regarding acceptable reward scenarios. The document made it clear that as long as it does not automatically trigger regulatory rulemaking, the banking proposal for a "two-year study on stablecoin impact on deposits" is acceptable.
Cody Carbone, CEO of the Digital Chamber, stated, "We want policymakers to understand that we see this as a compromise." Through this document, the industry organization in writing indicated its willingness to give up any static holding rewards similar to interest on a bank savings account. Carbone pointed out that since last year's "GENIUS Act" is already the law, the crypto industry's willingness to forgo holding rewards is a significant concession, but rewards for customers in activities such as trading should be retained. Banks should return to the negotiating table.
"If they don't negotiate, then the status quo remains with rewards," Carbone said, "If they do nothing and simply demand a blanket ban, this matter will not end." He hopes that after the recent unsuccessful White House meeting, this new document can restart negotiations.
The Digital Chamber's principles document specifically emphasizes the need to protect two types of reward scenarios: rewards related to providing liquidity and rewards that promote ecosystem participation, believing that these two provisions in Section 404 of the draft are crucial for DeFi.
It is reported that the White House has requested a compromise to be reached by the end of this month. Despite the banking side not seeming to concede in multiple meetings, Trump's crypto advisor, Patrick Witt, said that a new round of meetings may be scheduled next week.