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Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad told Fox Business on Thursday that the CLARITY Act could reach a Senate Banking Committee markup as early as this month, with a full floor vote possible in May if negotiations hold.
“I think we feel great about it,” Shirzad said. “Hopefully Chairman Scott will schedule a markup as early as this month. We should be able to get to the floor in May and give the President and Congress another big bipartisan win.”
The Stablecoin Yield Fight Is Effectively Over
The central dispute that stalled the bill for months has been the question of whether crypto platforms should be allowed to pay rewards to users who hold stablecoins in their accounts. Banks argued this would trigger deposit flight, pulling money out of traditional accounts and into crypto platforms.
That argument has now been undercut by the White House’s own Council of Economic Advisers, which published an academic review finding no evidence that stablecoin rewards cause deposit flight.
“I think that has been put to bed. Lobbying groups are still trying to fight it, but the evidence is not on their side,” Shirzad said.
The current compromise position requires some form of activity before a user qualifies for rewards, rather than simply earning yield on a passive balance. Shirzad said Coinbase has conceded that point and the remaining question is how the fine print is written.
$220 Billion Offshore
Shirzad framed the CLARITY Act as far more significant than a domestic regulatory dispute. There are currently $200 billion in stablecoins in US circulation and $220 billion sitting offshore, subject to rules other than American ones.
The goal of bringing that offshore market under US regulation is a central pillar of the administration’s crypto strategy. Without the rewards provision, Shirzad argued, the incentive for that capital to move onshore is significantly weakened.
Treasury Secretary Bessent, Senator Tillis and the Senate Banking Committee are all actively working to resolve the final outstanding issues, according to Shirzad.
“There is a bit of a disconnect between what we see in Washington and what we see with their business people,” he said. “I think we will be able to resolve that.”