Stablecoin bill nears passage

Senate negotiators are trying to clear the last major obstacle to a crypto market-structure bill by settling a fight over whether stablecoin holders can earn yield through third-party platforms. (theblock.co) Lawmakers return to Washington this week, and the Senate Banking Committee is planning a vote on the bill before the end of April, according to people involved in the talks. The sticking point has been “stablecoin rewards,” after earlier compromise language circulated in early April. (theblock.co) (coindesk.com) A stablecoin is a digital token designed to hold a fixed value, usually $1, and Congress has already passed a separate stablecoin law, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act. That law became Public Law 119-27 on July 18, 2025, and requires one-to-one reserves and monthly reserve disclosures. (congress.gov 1) (congress.gov 2) The bill now under negotiation is broader than the stablecoin law. It would divide oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, set rules for exchanges, and require disclosures. (theblock.co) The White House has stepped directly into the dispute. President Donald Trump accused banks on March 3 of holding up the legislation, while White House officials convened meetings between bank and crypto representatives to try to break the deadlock. (politico.com) The administration also released a Council of Economic Advisers analysis on April 8 arguing that banning stablecoin yield would raise bank lending by about $2.1 billion, or 0.02%, while imposing an $800 million net welfare cost. The report said a yield prohibition would do “very little” to protect lending. (whitehouse.gov) Banks have argued the opposite in the lobbying fight. Industry advocates say allowing crypto platforms to offer yield on dollar-linked tokens could pull deposits out of traditional banks, especially community banks, and weaken lending. (theblock.co) (politico.com) Congress has been working the stablecoin side of this debate for more than a year. In the House, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy Act was introduced on March 26, 2025 and reported out of committee on May 6, 2025. (congress.gov) The Congressional Research Service said both the House and Senate stablecoin bills would let banks, nonbank financial firms, and commercial firms issue stablecoins under a new regulatory regime rather than under ordinary bank rules. That framework has been one of the core policy fights in Washington’s effort to write crypto law. (crsreports.congress.gov) What happens next is narrow but consequential: if Senate negotiators can lock down the yield language and line up enough banking support, the committee vote expected before the end of April could move the broader crypto bill onto the Senate floor. (theblock.co)