Senate Banking Committee sets Clarity Act markup hearing as crypto market structure bill advances

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Senate schedules Clarity Act hearing

Highlights

Senate Banking Committee schedules markup hearing for the Clarity Act on May 14 at 10:30 a.m. after compromise on stablecoin yield.
Compromise bars yield on static stablecoin reserves but allows rewards for used stablecoins, resolving a key Coinbase and industry dispute.
Banking associations and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand call for further consumer protection and ethics provisions, with significant objections remaining before a Senate vote.

Markup hearing follows compromise on yield

As first reported by CoinDesk, the Senate Banking Committee plans to hold its markup hearing for the Clarity Act on Thursday, May 14 at 10:30 a.m. The bill had remained in limbo after Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong said in January that the exchange was withdrawing its support over stablecoin yield and other provisions.

Last week, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks released compromise text aimed at the yield dispute. The proposal would bar crypto companies from offering yield on static stablecoin reserve holdings while allowing rewards for stablecoins used in activities, a change that appears to resolve one of the central issues that had blocked the measure.

The committee has not released the full updated bill text publicly as of press time. Even so, scheduling the markup suggests lawmakers are prepared to move forward with the current version despite unresolved objections from parts of the banking industry.

Banking groups and ethics debate still in focus

Multiple banking trade associations, including the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Bankers Association and Consumer Bankers Association, say the compromise still needs revisions. In a Friday letter, the groups say additional work is needed to support digital asset innovation while also protecting consumers, and they include recommended edits to the latest provision text.

Other issues also remain open. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says at Consensus Miami this past week that the Clarity Act needs an ethics provision preventing senior government officials from profiting from the crypto industry while regulating it, and her office reiterates that stance in a Thursday press release citing CoinDesk-commissioned polling showing 73% of registered voters hold that view.

That ethics issue may not be addressed in the Senate Banking Committee version of the bill. After the markup, the Senate still needs to reconcile this text with a separate version from the Senate Agriculture Committee before the full chamber can vote on whether to advance the legislation.

In our earlier coverage of the Indiana field hearing on U.S. mining policy, we described how lawmakers and industry witnesses focused on labor shortages, compliance pressures, and the role of new technology in keeping domestic mining competitive. The piece also highlighted debate over the 2024 MSHA silica rule’s potential cost impact, alongside arguments that regulatory certainty is needed to protect jobs and support energy security.

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