Overview
- The Senate Banking Committee is preparing a markup for the week of May 11, with draft bill text already shared with industry and a potential Thursday vote signaled by multiple reports.
- The proposal would set a national rulebook for cryptocurrencies by putting digital commodities under the CFTC and keeping digital securities under the SEC.
- A Tillis–Alsobrooks deal limits stablecoin rewards by banning interest-like returns on balances while allowing activity-based perks, which would rein in exchange “earn” products that resemble bank deposits.
- Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the bill will not advance without an ethics rule that bars senior officials, including the president and vice president, from holding crypto interests, and the White House favors language that applies broadly rather than targeting one person.
- Major banking groups, including the American Bankers Association and the Bank Policy Institute, have formally opposed the current stablecoin-yield wording and plan to press amendments when the committee takes up the bill.