Subscribe to Bankless or sign in
President Trump urged Congress to pass the Clarity Act "ASAP" in a Truth Social post yesterday, attacking banks for attempting to "undermine" the GENIUS Act by opposing stablecoin yield payouts.
What's the Scoop?
- Trump's Post: "The Banks are hitting record profits, and we are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda that will end up going to China, and other Countries if we don't get The Clarity Act taken care of," Trump wrote. He warned banks against holding the bill "hostage."
- The Sticking Point: The market structure bill has been in limbo since the Senate Banking Committee indefinitely postponed a markup hearing in January. The central dispute is whether third parties like
Coinbase can offer yield on stablecoin deposits to customers. - Bank Concerns: Banks worry that allowing exchanges to offer stablecoin yield could trigger deposit flight from the traditional banking sector. Crypto companies argue yield payouts were permitted under the GENIUS Act that Trump signed last year.
- Ongoing Negotiations: The White House has facilitated meetings between banking and crypto representatives to negotiate bill language. Draft language is circulating among lawmakers, though a tentative end-of-February deadline passed without a deal.
- OCC Guidance: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposed rules last week requiring clear contract terms between stablecoin issuers and third parties, but did not explicitly ban yield payouts.
- Conflict Note: World Liberty Financial, a company associated with Trump and his family, offers its own stablecoin, USD1, and recently sought an OCC trust charter for an affiliated firm.
Bankless Take:
Trump publicly siding with crypto over banks on stablecoin yield marks a clear line in the sand for the White House, outlining which side they're working for. Today, CoinDesk reported that Coinbase CEO 
Brian Armstrong had met with Trump prior to his post, suggesting this commentary arrives as coordinated pressure from the industry's largest exchange. With the legislative calendar shrinking as summer recess and election season approach, if the Clarity Act doesn't move soon, it likely doesn't move this year — and would face a very different challenge as the political landscape looks increasingly likely to shift come midterms.
