CLARITY Act Edges Closer as Senate Pushes Toward Stablecoin Deal

Key Insights:

• Senate Republicans held a private session with Patrick Witt as negotiations continued on the CLARITY Act.
• GOP lawmakers urged the White House to publish an economic review on stablecoin yield, bank deposits, and lending, but the study remains private.
• The revised CLARITY Act moved to the White House while senators weighed housing and banking provisions to widen support for the bill.

Senate Banking Republicans met White House Crypto Council Executive Director Patrick Witt as work on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act continued. The closed-door meeting centered on crypto market structure and the unresolved issue of stablecoin yield and rewards. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated progress was being made, though she described the talks as delicate. Therefore, the next step is less about rewriting the bill and more about winning support from key people.

Lummis told reporters that the meeting opened a path she had not expected before entering the room. Her comments suggested that negotiators are now looking at options beyond the earlier debate over legislative wording alone. Witt and Senator Tim Scott did not comment after the meeting.

Stablecoin Yield Study Remains Unreleased

During the meeting, Senator Thom Tillis and other Senate Banking Republicans pressed Witt to release a White House Council of Economic Advisers study on stablecoin yield. The study examines whether yield-bearing stablecoins could affect deposit movement and bank lending. Lawmakers on the committee have been briefed on the findings, but the report has not been made public.

Analysts familiar with the matter acknowledged there has been pressure inside both the White House and the Senate to release the study for weeks. There is a belief that the report contains economic analysis that leans in a favorable direction to crypto. Some Republican senators are also expected to call the White House to push for publication. The document has become part of the broader debate because banks have warned that stablecoin rewards could draw funds away from traditional deposits.

CLARITY Act Reaches the White House

As negotiations continued, the updated CLARITY Act reached the White House. Lawmakers were still revising the bill as they worked to close the remaining gaps in the negotiations. The stablecoin yield issue is close to a compromise, but it has not been fully solved. The treatment of decentralized finance and other policy details also remains part of the broader discussion.

Lawmakers have also discussed whether other provisions could help build support for the bill. Reports indicate that Senate Republicans are weighing housing-related or community bank measures as part of a wider legislative trade. Those ideas appear aimed at easing concerns among banks while also improving the bill’s path through Congress. It remains unclear whether House Republicans would accept that type of arrangement if the Senate moves in that direction.

Senate Path Still Includes Other Hurdles

The Banking Committee is the second Senate panel that must advance the bill before a final package can move toward a full Senate vote. Lummis expects committee action by the end of April. That timeline depends on whether negotiators can close the remaining gaps around yield rules and related issues. It also depends on whether lawmakers can secure enough support from senators and outside stakeholders.

Democrats involved in the talks have raised separate demands. They want rules that would block senior officials and lawmakers from profiting from personal crypto holdings. They also want Democratic vacancies at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission filled before the agency adopts new crypto rules.

Meanwhile, federal regulators have already begun taking steps on crypto policy. The Securities and Exchange Commission this week discussed new regulatory definitions for U.S. crypto assets, standing ready to work with the CFTC if Congress passes the CLARITY Act.

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