A tentative agreement on stablecoin yield may help restart progress on the CLARITY Act in Washington. Reports said White House officials and US lawmakers are working on terms that could address one of the main disputes that slowed the crypto market structure bill earlier this year.
Summary
- A reported agreement in principle may help restart stalled progress on the CLARITY Act.
- Lawmakers are weighing limits on stablecoin yield to address bank deposit flight concerns carefully.
- Crypto industry review is still pending before any stablecoin yield compromise becomes final law.
The talks center on whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield to holders. That issue has divided crypto firms and banks, with both sides watching closely as lawmakers try to move the bill forward.
A Politico report said Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Angela Alsobrooks reached an “agreement in principle” on stablecoin yield. Both senators sit on the Senate Banking Committee, which has played a central role in digital asset policy talks.
Alsobrooks said the deal would help “protect innovation” while also limiting the risk of deposit flight from the banking system. She added that the agreement would block stablecoin yield on “passive balances,” pointing to a narrower path for how yield could work under future rules.
CLARITY Act remains stalled over key questions
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 had been expected to move ahead after the GENIUS stablecoin framework became law. That changed when debate grew around whether stablecoin issuers could share yield directly with token holders.
Industry groups and lawmakers have treated that issue as a central point in the bill. Senator Tillis said the crypto industry still needs to review the emerging agreement before anything is finalized, which means the text may still change before formal action.
Speaking at the DC Blockchain Summit, Senator Cynthia Lummis said, “We are so close” to passing a broader crypto framework. A spokesperson for Lummis also said a deal could come together within days as work continues on ethics language tied to the bill.
Those comments suggest lawmakers are still trying to package stablecoin policy and market structure rules into a wider crypto framework. The timing remains uncertain, but the latest talks show that negotiations are active again after the January slowdown.
Banks and crypto firms remain split
Banks have opposed yield-bearing stablecoins, saying they could pull deposits away from traditional accounts. That concern has been one of the strongest arguments against allowing broad yield features in stablecoin products.
The White House has also heard the opposite case. Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said those concerns are overstated and argued that regulated yield-bearing stablecoins could bring new capital into the US banking system.
