Two U.S. senators have released a new bipartisan agreement on stablecoin yields, aiming to clarify one of the most debated provisions in the Digital Asset Market Structure bill. Announced Friday, the consensus text seeks to resolve longstanding regulatory uncertainty. Within hours of its release, several crypto industry trade groups called for swift legislative action on the bill.
Restrictions on stablecoin yields
Under the new agreement, crypto companies are explicitly prohibited from paying interest or yields on stablecoin holdings in a manner similar to traditional bank deposits. This restriction applies not only to banks, but to all digital asset market participants. However, the text makes an exception for genuine, transparent rewards tied to actual user transactions. Both the U.S. Treasury Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have been authorized to draft detailed rules within a year of the regulation’s enactment.
Summer Mersinger, an executive at the Blockchain Association, described the new language as “a step in the right direction” for the industry, emphasizing the ongoing legal vacuum and its negative repercussions for innovative companies and capital.
“With every day that passes without clear legal guidelines, we risk driving talent and investment abroad,” Mersinger stated.
Divided industry response to the bill
While most organizations in the crypto ecosystem broadly support the bill, some have voiced concerns. Ji Hun Kim, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, asserted that the new text introduces a much broader ban than last year’s GENIUS Act. Whereas the GENIUS Act targeted only stablecoin issuers, the current proposal extends to all digital asset market actors.
According to Kim, “As CCI, we reject the argument that stablecoin adoption will trigger an exodus from bank deposits… The text goes well beyond the GENIUS Act.”
Kim also urged the committee to continue advancing the legislation and stressed the need for the United States to lead in this rapidly evolving space.
Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer at Circle, voiced unconditional support for the compromise, noting that Circle-issued USDC and EURC stablecoins are experiencing rapid growth in cross-border payments and collateral operations. Disparte remarked, “The U.S. must set the standard for digital assets, and today’s action points in that direction.”
Restructuring needed at crypto firms
The agreement signals another significant shift: crypto firms will need to overhaul their rewards programs. Rather than passive, hold-to-earn models, only rewards linked to genuine transactions and user activity will be permitted. Companies throughout the crypto sector will need to adapt to these new guidelines.
Coinbase has been one of the key actors in discussions over the bill. Following the publication of the new text, CEO Brian Armstrong announced his support. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, pointed out that the proposal preserves rewards based on active participation, in line with the requests of the banking lobby.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee postponed marking up the Digital Asset Market Structure bill, with the issue of yield payments among the most contentious points. Although not all negotiation topics have been fully resolved, considerable progress appears to have been made on the stablecoin yield controversy.
