Overview
- Sen. Thom Tillis said Wednesday he will ask the Senate Banking chair to schedule a mid‑May markup and preview stablecoin‑yield text four to five days in advance, saying many bank concerns are now addressed.
- The bill is still stuck in committee as police and prosecutor groups object to protections for non‑custodial DeFi developers, while Sen. Cynthia Lummis says she can preserve those safeguards without tying law enforcement’s hands.
- Tillis has also drawn a red line on an ethics provision that would limit crypto activity by senior federal officials, and Democrats including Ruben Gallego and Adam Schiff say agreement on such rules is needed for movement.
- The stablecoin dispute turns on whether exchanges can offer rewards on payment tokens banned from paying interest by the 2025 GENIUS Act, with banks warning of deposit flight and the White House’s CEA estimating only a tiny lending boost and an $800 million net welfare cost from a ban.
- A May markup faces a tight Senate calendar with roughly 11 working weeks left, and even passage would require reconciling with the House bill, as the White House’s Patrick Witt argues that final enactment could unleash faster industry growth.