Congress to hear tokenization debate
Congress scheduled a high‑stakes hearing on tokenization of real‑world assets for March 25 as the RWA market tops roughly $12 billion and lawmakers negotiate the CLARITY Act’s rules for stablecoin yields. Debate centers on whether to ban passive stablecoin rewards and how to craft compliance that won’t choke DeFi innovation. (fintechweekly.com) (coinpedia.org)
The House Financial Services Committee’s hearing record names witnesses Kenneth Bentsen Jr. (SIFMA), Summer Mersinger (Blockchain Association), Christian Sabella (DTCC) and John Zecca (Nasdaq). (financialservices.house.gov) The committee memorandum lists two draft bills slated for discussion: the Modernizing Markets Through Tokenization Act of 2026 and the Capital Markets Technology Modernization Act of 2026. (financialservices.house.gov) The SEC on March 18 approved a Nasdaq rule change allowing certain Russell 1000 stocks and selected ETFs to trade and settle in tokenized form, with settlement routed through the Depository Trust Company in a pilot structure. (coindesk.com) On March 5 the Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC issued interagency FAQs clarifying that eligible tokenized securities that confer the same legal rights as their non‑tokenized counterparts should receive the same capital treatment, removing a potential extra‑capital barrier for banks. (federalreserve.gov) A March 23 review of draft CLARITY Act text found language that would bar rewards paid on stablecoin balances, and separate reporting says Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks reached an “agreement in principle” that sources characterize as banning passive yields while permitting activity‑based incentives. (coindesk.com) Analysts and reporting flagged firms whose revenue depends on balance‑based stablecoin programs—CoinDesk singled out Coinbase as particularly exposed if passive yields are prohibited under the finalized CLARITY language. (coindesk.com) The committee’s public page includes a livestream and a full committee memorandum for the session, which lists witness statements and the draft legislation to be examined. (financialservices.house.gov)
