Crypto Firms Offer Compromises To Save Stablecoin Yield Bill

Crypto companies are reportedly floating concessions relating to stablecoin yields in an attempt to unfreeze the delayed crypto market structure bill. 

The House has advanced crypto market-structure legislation, but negotiations have stalled in the Senate as negotiations continue over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yields, with banks arguing that such offerings would compete with and take money away from traditional savings accounts.

Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that crypto firms are now proposing measures, such as giving community banks a larger role in the stablecoin system, to help ease the bill through the Senate. 

Other proposed compromises include requiring stablecoin issuers to hold reserves at community banks and helping community banks issue their own stablecoins through partnerships.

No deposit flight, says Senator 

A White House meeting on Monday between crypto and banking groups ended without agreement. 

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott told Fox News on Wednesday that allowing crypto firms to offer rewards is a good thing, but they cannot advertise as if they were banks.

Related: Banks’ stablecoin concerns are ‘unsubstantiated myths’: Professor

The bottom line is that “there will not be a deposit flight. We’re going to sit down with consumer banks, hopefully next week again, and have this conversation,” he said.

Bill still needs Senate approval

The US Senate Agriculture Committee released a Republican draft of the market-structure bill in January, but it lacked Democratic support. 

Lawmakers held a markup session on Jan. 29, resulting in the bill advancing from the Agriculture Committee. However, to pass and ultimately reach President Trump for approval, it will need support from at least seven Democrats in the full Senate.

The Senate Banking Committee’s markup proposes a stricter version of the bill, and both versions need to be aligned before the legislation proceeds. 

Magazine: DAT panic dumps 73,000 ETH, India’s crypto tax stays: Asia Express