BlockBeats reported on March 24th, citing CoinDesk, that crypto industry professionals saw the latest provisions regarding stablecoin rewards in the Senate's revised Digital Asset Markets Clarity Act at a closed-door review meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Monday. Their initial impression was that the language was too narrow and unclear. The new provisions were released last Friday by Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis. According to a person familiar with the current draft, the new provisions would prohibit earning rewards solely for holding stablecoins, restrict any practices that equate the program with bank deposits, and further limit other potentially permitted activities. The specific mechanism for recognizing stablecoin rewards based on activities remains unclear.
This compromise stemmed from a lobbying battle between the crypto industry and the banking sector: the banking sector insisted that stablecoin rewards should not resemble interest-bearing bank deposits, arguing that such competing products could harm the banking industry and stifle lending. The final compromise was to allow reward programs based on users' stablecoin activity, but not rewards based on balances.
This closed-door review aims to push for a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, a crucial step towards a full Senate vote on the bill. A similar version of the Clarity Act passed the House last year, and another version passed the Senate Agriculture Committee's flagging process. Other obstacles remain: agreement on a DeFi regulatory framework is needed, and Democrats insist on including a clause prohibiting senior government officials from profiting personally from the crypto industry—a clause clearly targeting President Trump.
