Banks Derail Clarity Act Over Stablecoin Yield
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- Banking lobbyists pushed their stablecoin-yield concerns back to the forefront earlier this month, undermining a bipartisan compromise and helping derail the Senate's Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which crypto advocates had considered settled.
- JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the Clarity Act had "almost no legal protections" against money laundering and warned "the banks will not accept it that way. We'll fight it. If we lose, we lose."
- Chase's standard retail savings account now pays 0.01% interest, down from more than 4% twenty years ago, while stablecoin yield rates at Coinbase (3.5%), Kraken (3.75%+) and Gemini (3.75%+) now outpace inflation, currently 3.4%.
- The U.S. banking industry posted a record $80.5 billion in Q1 2026 profits with a 1.26% return-on-assets rate, and deposits grew by nearly $400 billion in the most recent quarter — the seventh consecutive quarterly increase, contradicting the claim of a stablecoin-driven deposit exodus.
- The American Bankers Association is pressing Congress to tighten the Clarity Act's "anti-evasion language" on indirect yield arrangements like distribution-fee programs, arguing last year's GENIUS Act's rules don't go far enough to prevent crypto firms from imitating bank deposit interest.
- The Clarity Act needs 60 Senate votes by mid-September, ahead of midterm elections; several Republican senators have split from their party to warn they may oppose it without more bank-friendly adjustments, and the bill may struggle to win a majority.
- Crypto Council for Innovation's Rashan Colbert insisted the stablecoin rewards matter is "locked" in the legislation, but his confidence contrasts with the ABA's stated resolve and the defections of GOP senators who want sharper restrictions.
Why it matters: The banks' central lobbying claim — that depositors will flee to stablecoins and starve lending — is undercut by FDIC data showing $21 trillion in deposits just grew $400 billion last quarter alongside record $80.5 billion profits. With three weeks of Senate action remaining before the midterms, 60 votes look uncertain if Republicans demanding bank-friendly concessions hold firm.
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