A two-hour White House meeting between crypto firms and banks concluded without agreement on whether stablecoins should offer yield rewards.
The talks focused on the most contentious issue blocking the CLARITY Act market structure legislation.
Crypto industry participants felt banks were dragging their heels on compromise. The White House gave both sides a deadline to reach agreement on stablecoin yield language by the end of February.
What Happened
President Donald Trump's crypto adviser Patrick Witt led the Monday gathering in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room.
Policy experts from both industries spent more than two hours discussing how to overhaul the stickiest provisions of the bill.
Banking representatives did not present any compromises during the session. One participant said banking trade association members may need buy-in from their constituents before making moves in negotiations.
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger called the event "an important step forward" in delivering bipartisan digital asset market structure legislation. Talks will continue with a narrower group asked to agree on actual bill language changes.
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Why It Matters
Banks argue stablecoin yields could catastrophically compete with deposits at the core of U.S. banking. Standard Chartered estimated unrestricted stablecoin yields could drain $500 billion from developed economies and $1 trillion from emerging markets by 2028.
Crypto firms counter that stablecoin rewards differ from bank deposits. They argue users should earn returns on digital dollars without banks intermediating funds.
The longer the bill delays from getting a Senate floor vote, the less likely it passes this year. Democrats hold additional demands including anti-corruption provisions targeting Trump's crypto businesses.
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