Overview
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong now backs the market‑structure bill after months of pushback, joining Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the heads of the SEC and CFTC who say they are ready to implement it once Congress acts.
- The core fight is over stablecoin yields, with a draft that bans passive, interest‑like payouts but permits narrow activity‑based rewards tied to payments and platform use.
- White House economists said a full ban on passive stablecoin yields would likely trim about $800 million a year from consumer returns while doing little to boost bank lending.
- Senators are set to return with a tight window for a Banking Committee markup after the Agriculture Committee cleared its section in January, yet banks still object to the revised proposal and talks continue on the yield language.
- Backers say the bill would set SEC and CFTC roles, create venue registrations, and lock in some asset labels such as XRP as a commodity, while political hurdles remain over ethics provisions and demands targeting the president’s personal crypto ventures.