Overview
- The Senate Banking Committee holds a Thursday markup of the 309-page CLARITY Act, taking up more than 100 amendments to set clear U.S. crypto rules.
- The Tillis–Alsobrooks compromise would ban passive, interest-like payments on idle stablecoins but allow rewards tied to payments or transactions, which banking groups are urging senators to narrow.
- Democrats are pressing ethics rules, with proposals to bar the president and senior officials from owning or promoting crypto businesses and to limit crypto firms’ access to Federal Reserve master accounts.
- Other amendments target core provisions, including Jack Reed’s bid to further curb stablecoin rewards and strike developer protections, Mark Warner’s DeFi control test for anti–money laundering duties, and Bill Hagerty’s ban on a U.S. central bank digital currency.
- Supporters point to momentum from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and the White House and to polling that shows majority voter support, while banks have sent thousands of letters against stablecoin rewards, and any committee vote must still be reconciled with the Agriculture Committee’s text and reach 60 votes on the Senate floor.