Banks Told to Back Down as Senate Pushes to Finally Pass the 2026 Crypto Bill

TLDR

• Senator Angela Alsobrooks told bankers at a Washington summit that both sides will need to compromise on the CLARITY Act crypto bill.
• Banks have been blocking the bill over fears that stablecoin rewards could pull deposits away from traditional banks.
• The compromise being worked on by Alsobrooks and Senator Thom Tillis would allow some limited stablecoin rewards, but only for active transactions — not static balances.
• Senator Tillis has not yet made a decision on the current draft and wants to meet with Coinbase and banking groups first.
• Polymarket gives a 69% chance Trump signs the bill into law this year, with one analyst predicting passage by July.

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The U.S. Senate is pushing to move the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act forward, but a standoff between banks and the crypto industry is slowing things down. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, told attendees at an American Bankers Association summit in Washington on Tuesday that everyone is going to have to give a little.

The main sticking point is stablecoin rewards. Banks fear that if crypto platforms can pay rewards on stablecoin holdings, customers will move money out of traditional savings accounts and into crypto platforms instead. The American Bankers Association has been lobbying hard to close what it sees as a loophole in the bill.

The crypto industry, for its part, has already agreed not to pay rewards on stablecoin balances that just sit in an account. What remains on the table is whether rewards tied to active transactions — like spending or trading — should still be allowed.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently suggested that the banking industry could accept transaction-based rewards, which lines up with what the crypto side has been proposing in White House meetings.

The Compromise Taking Shape

Alsobrooks has been working with Republican Senator Thom Tillis to find language both sides can live with. Their goal is to allow some form of stablecoin rewards while still protecting bank deposits from a large-scale outflow.

Senator Mike Rounds, another Banking Committee member, said on Tuesday that he is still not sure how to handle stablecoin rewards but suggested they could be linked to account activity rather than account size.

The Senate Banking Committee had previously scheduled a markup hearing on the bill, but it was delayed. A new markup could happen by the end of March, depending largely on whether Tillis signs on to the current draft.

Tillis has not yet committed. He met with industry and White House officials multiple times last week but wants to hold at least one more meeting with representatives from Coinbase and bank trading groups before deciding.

Where the Bill Stands Now

If the bill clears the Banking Committee markup, it will be merged with a version that already passed the Senate Agriculture Committee. From there, the full Senate would need to vote, which would require a meaningful number of Democrats to cross the aisle.

That remains a real challenge. Democrats have raised concerns about decentralized finance, open seats at the CFTC and SEC, and ethics rules around senior government officials profiting from personal crypto holdings — a clear reference to President Trump.

There are also time pressures. Senate floor time is limited, and other issues like foreign policy and Trump’s demand for a voter-ID bill could push the crypto legislation further down the calendar.

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently proposed a rule aligned with last year’s GENIUS Act stablecoin law. The crypto industry says the proposal still leaves room for their planned rewards programs.

Polymarket currently puts the odds of Trump signing the bill at 69%. Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith has predicted the CLARITY Act will pass by July.

Industry groups say talks are moving in the right direction but are not there yet. They are also preparing backup plans in case the markup slips past March.

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