Crypto Firms Offer Compromises To Save Stablecoin Yield Bill

Crypto companies are reportedly floating concessions relating to stablecoin yields in an attempt to unfreeze the delayed crypto market structure bill. 

The legislation passed the House but has stalled in the Senate as negotiations continue over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yields, with banks arguing it will compete with and take money away from traditional savings accounts.

Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that crypto firms are now making new proposals, such as giving community banks a bigger role in the stablecoin system, to ease the bill through the Senate. 

Other proposed compromises include requiring stablecoin issuers to hold reserves at community banks and helping community banks issue their own stablecoins through partnerships.

No deposit flight, says Senator 

A White House meeting on Monday between crypto and banking groups ended without agreement. 

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott told Fox News on Wednesday that allowing crypto firms to pay rewards is a good thing, but they cannot advertise as if they were a bank.

Related: Banks’ stablecoin concerns are ‘unsubstantiated myths’: Professor

The bottom line is that “there will not be a deposit flight. We’re going to sit down with consumer banks, hopefully next week again, and have this conversation,” he said.

“The good news is that both sides remain at the table […] we’re going to overcome those hurdles and make sure that America is the crypto capital of the world.” 

Bill still needs Senate approval

The US Senate Agriculture Committee released a Republican draft of the market structure bill in January, but it did not have the support of the Democrats. 

Lawmakers held a markup session on Jan. 29, resulting in the bill advancing from the Agriculture Committee, but to fully pass and ultimately advance to President Trump for approval, the bill will need support from at least seven Democrats in the full Senate.

The Senate Banking Committee’s markup proposes a stricter version of the bill, and both need to be aligned before it proceeds. 

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