Coinbase chief legal officer has suggested that negotiators in the Senate are “very close” to a deal on the CLARITY Act’s most contentious crypto issue.
Coinbase: “Very Close To A Deal”, Despite Stablecoin Dispute
It’s all about the stablecoins. Whether and how exchanges can pay yield on stablecoin balances continues to be the bone of contention for CLARITY’s lawmakers, but according to Paul Grenwal, the long-standing dispute could be resolved as soon as this Friday.
Grenwal claimed in a Wednesday interview on Fox Business that the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is “moving toward” a markup session in the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. He stressed the need to “finish the job” with cryptocurrencies that was started after the passage of the GENIUS Act last year.
This could later advance to a full floor vote, once senators finally settle the stablecoin yield dispute and formally put the markup on the calendar.
The Stablecoin Compromise
It is worth noting that Grenwal’s statement follows months of drama in which Coinbase derailed an earlier Senate markup by withdrawing support over provisions it said would amount to a “de facto ban” on tokenized equities, heavy DeFi restrictions, and a tilt in power toward the SEC. Bitcoinist covered the story back then.
If the SBC moves to markup this month, as Grewal suggests, the bill could see a floor vote and land on President Trump’s desk as early as this year.
Stablecoin rewards have become the pressure point between banks and crypto firms because banks fear deposit flight, while exchanges view yield‑bearing stablecoins as core to their business models and user growth.
The emerging compromise consists in no rewards for idle, parked stablecoin balances, but limited yields linked to “active” use such as spending or on‑chain transactions. Some big banks, including JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, appear willing to live with such a framework.
A successful compromise would end a year of committee delays and canceled markups, and could finally give exchanges a federal framework instead of “regulation by enforcement” through the SEC.
The Tension Between The Crypto Industry And The Regulators
Even if the bill passes in an agreeable way for both parties, there’s still a big split between the official narrative and what many in crypto fear it will really do.
Regulators and the administration are selling the CLARITY Act as the moment the U.S. finally becomes the global benchmark for digital‑asset rules: clear, predictable, and safe. CFTC chairman Michael Selig said in another interview with Fox Business this February that the pending U.S. crypto market‑structure bill would make the United States the “gold standard” for digital‑asset regulation.
However, builders and power crypto users continue asking whether that same law quietly locks in a bank and exchange‑centric model, with DeFi, tokenized markets, and true self‑custody pushed to the margins or offshore. This recent Reuters’ overview of the CLARITY Act emphasizes how the legislation will define who regulates which parts of the market and under what licensing regimes, reinforcing concerns that smaller or non‑custodial players could be squeezed.
Stablecoin yield surviving in “transaction‑linked” form would support exchange fees and interest income. But if talks collapse, markets may re‑price U.S. regulatory risk and rotate liquidity toward offshore venues.
Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSDT chart from Tradingview
