A White House meeting aimed at breaking the logjam over stablecoin rewards under pending crypto market structure legislation aka Clarity Act ended without a compromise, even as both banking and crypto participants described the session as “productive,” according to details shared by Crypto In America reporter Eleanor Terrett citing sources in the room.
Crypto Clarity Act UpdateTerrett said banks and banking trade groups came prepared with a written handout titled “Yield and Interest Prohibition Principles,” framing “payment stablecoins” as payment instruments and pushing for a bright-line ban on consideration paid to holders.
“In the GENIUS Act, Congress specifically designed payment stablecoins to be payment instruments,” the document states. “Consistent with this design, market structure legislation should incorporate the following yield and interest prohibition principles to limit deposit outflows that reduce the availability of credit for communities.”
The handout’s core demand is sweeping: “No person may provide any form of financial or non-financial consideration to a payment stablecoin holder in connection with the payment stablecoin holder’s purchase, use, ownership, possession, custody, holding, or retention of a payment stablecoin.” It pairs that with a call for regulator enforcement authority and civil monetary penalties, anti-evasion language, and strict marketing and disclosure rules that would bar firms from implying rewards are “interest,” “risk-free,” or comparable to insured deposits.
One source highlighted a narrow shift in bank posture: the inclusion of “any proposed exemptions” language, which Terrett said was viewed as a concession because banks had previously been unwilling to discuss exemptions “with respect to offering rewards on a transaction-based basis at all.” Even so, the handout insists exemptions must be “extremely limited in scope” and must not “drive deposit flight that would undercut Main Street lending.”
Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty struck an optimistic tone after the session, writing via X: “Productive session at the White House today – compromise is in the air. Clear, bipartisan momentum remains behind sensible crypto market structure legislation. We should move now – while the window is still open – and deliver a real win for consumers and America.”
Mersinger said the continued convenings signal momentum even without a deal. “Today’s second White House meeting reflects continued, meaningful momentum toward delivering bipartisan digital asset market structure legislation, and we’re encouraged by the progress being made as stakeholders remain constructively engaged on resolving outstanding issues,” she said. “We’re thankful to Patrick Witt and the Administration for their continued leadership and commitment to keeping this process moving forward.”
At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.26 trillion.
