White House Convenes Banks and Crypto Companies Amid CLARITY Act Deadlock

Officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump are reportedly set to sit down with executives from the banking and cryptocurrency industries on Monday as lawmakers attempt to revive the stalled CLARITY Act.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters the meeting will be hosted by the White House’s crypto council and will bring together industry trade groups to discuss how the bill treats interest and other rewards offered on dollar-pegged stablecoins.

The legislation has been held up in the Senate for months, with a scheduled Banking Committee vote postponed earlier this month amid concerns from lawmakers and industry groups over the stablecoin interest provision.

The CLARITY Act is a proposed crypto market-structure bill that seeks to clarify how digital assets are regulated in the United States, including how oversight would be divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Related: Banks fear stablecoin ‘bank run,’ regulators see limited impact

Banks and crypto companies clash over stablecoin interest rules

Progress on the CLARITY Act has been slowed by a dispute over whether third parties should be allowed to offer yield on stablecoins.

While the GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, bars stablecoin issuers from paying interest, it leaves open whether exchanges or other intermediaries can provide rewards, a gap that has fueled tension between crypto companies and traditional banks.

For months, bank lobbyists have pushed Congress to prohibit third-party stablecoin yield, arguing it could trigger deposit flight and weaken the banking system. On Jan. 15, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that interest-bearing stablecoins could draw as much as $6 trillion out of US banks, potentially constraining lending and raising borrowing costs.

Crypto exchanges such as Coinbase, which offer rewards on stablecoin holdings, argue that banks are attempting to use legislation to eliminate competition. On Jan. 14, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew the company’s support for the bill, saying Coinbase would “rather have no bill than a bad bill.”

Opposition to the bill within the crypto sector is not uniform. Several prominent companies and advocacy groups, including Coin Center, a16z, the Digital Chamber, Kraken and Ripple have expressed support for the Senate’s proposal.

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