Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly sparred with crypto reporter Eleanor Terrett this week after she questioned the trade’s stance on crypto regulation, prompting an trade that rapidly spilled onto social media and reignited tensions between business leaders and the broader neighborhood.
Senate Banking postponed its deliberate Jan. 15 markup of the CLARITY Act, leaving timing for Senate motion on H.R. 3633 depending on continued negotiations over language that would form whether or not stablecoin rewards are handled as deposit-like yield.
The committee’s govt session itemizing for Jan. 15 is labeled “POSTPONED” and “Standing: POSTPONED” on the panel’s schedule web page. No alternative date was posted within the committee report supplied.
Chairman Tim Scott mentioned the markup can be delayed “as bipartisan negotiations proceed.” He added, “everybody stays on the desk working in good religion,” in accordance with his assertion.
The delay interrupts a legislative path that had regarded linear after the Home accepted H.R. 3633 by a 294-134 vote on July 17, 2025. It was then despatched to the Senate, the place it was obtained Sept. 18, 2025, and referred for consideration.
Senate Banking’s majority workers introduced on Jan. 9 that the committee would maintain a markup on Jan. 15. The announcement framed the session as an upcoming step for digital asset market construction laws, in accordance with the bulk’s discover.
With the committee citing ongoing talks, the procedural pause is now intertwined with a product dispute that locations stablecoin rewards close to the middle of lobbying stress. Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, wrote in an X publish that “draft amendments” would “kill rewards on stablecoins.”
Armstrong added, “We’d slightly don’t have any invoice than a nasty invoice”. Coinbase withdrew assist for the Senate push shortly earlier than the markup and tied the dispute to stablecoin rewards and coalition timing.
Stablecoin rewards and the deposit-like yield debate
Banks have argued that reward-bearing stablecoins can operate like deposits. That framing treats “rewards” as a consumer-facing yield product that competes with financial institution funding.
Financial institution have considerations that some tokens pay reward charges resembling high-yield deposits round 3.5%.
That fee reference issues for lawmakers as a result of yield mechanics could be carried out at totally different layers of the stack. These embrace issuer applications, trade applications, and wallet-linked incentives, every carrying totally different shopper expectations and regulatory implications.
Coinbase’s personal documentation illustrates how “rewards” could be structured with program situations slightly than framed as a deposit rate of interest. Coinbase assist supplies describe “Boosted Rewards” tied to USDC, together with a base reward fee and “boosted” tiers primarily based on participation necessities.
These particulars are specified by Coinbase’s assist documentation. For Senate negotiators drafting guardrails, that distinction can drive whether or not any restriction bans express “curiosity,” restricts advertising and marketing and pass-through yield, or limits particular reward pathways seen as bank-like.
On the similar time, negotiators might purpose to protect room for incentive applications that don’t resemble insured deposit accounts. The query is whether or not lawmakers draw the road on the stablecoin degree, the trade degree, or each.
White Home leverage claims add uncertainty to the coalition
The political overlay intensified as a declare about White Home leverage circulated alongside the committee’s delay.
Eleanor Terrett posted on X, citing an unnamed supply, that the White Home was contemplating pulling assist until Coinbase returned to the desk with an settlement on yield that satisfies banks.
“The White Home is claimed to be livid with Coinbase’s “unilateral” motion on Wednesday, which it apparently was not notified of prematurely, calling it a “rug pull” towards the White Home and the remainder of the business. The White Home doesn’t imagine that one firm speaks for the complete business, the supply continued.”
The identical declare was amplified by means of reprints and commentary, altering perceptions of the invoice’s coalition power even with out official affirmation.
Individually, Erik Voorhees echoed Armstrong’s “no invoice” posture with profanity, reflecting that some components of the crypto constituency might desire legislative delay to constraints on reward fashions.
Armstrong, straight known as out Terrett in a reply.
Typically, love your posts, however this isn’t correct. The White Home has been tremendous constructive right here.
They did ask us to see if we will go work out a take care of the banks, which we’re at present engaged on.
Truly, we have been cooking up some good concepts on how we might help the neighborhood banks particularly on this invoice, since that is what that is about…..the neighborhood banks, proper? Extra coming quickly.
Terrett hit again, claiming Armstrong had validated her reporting, stating,
“My reporting was hermetic and correct.
You additionally simply cited the central level of my story as appropriate: that the White Home requested Coinbase to go safe a deal on yield. My reporting is that WH assist now seems to be contingent on that consequence.”
The committee’s postponement means the negotiation observe, slightly than formal modification votes, will doubtless decide when and the way the difficulty is resolved.
Scale, calendar constraints, and attainable paths ahead
The coverage stakes prolong past the present markup as a result of the definition of allowable rewards would scale with stablecoin provide and distribution. DeFiLlama knowledge put the stablecoin market capitalization at about $311.563 billion at retrieval.
Citi’s GPS analysis projected stablecoin issuance of $1.9 trillion in a base situation and $4.0 trillion in a bull situation by 2030. The framework additionally tied transaction exercise to velocity assumptions equivalent to 50x, making distribution economics and stability retention central to enterprise fashions, in accordance with Citi GPS.
Underneath these magnitudes, even slender drafting modifications round what constitutes “rewards” might shift which intermediaries seize spreads and buyer relationships. The record of potential winners and losers consists of banks, exchanges, and cost corporations.
Within the close to time period, the markup calendar turns into the onerous constraint. Senate Banking’s schedule exhibits solely the postponed standing for Jan. 15 and doesn’t record a rescheduled govt session within the supplies right here.
Scott’s assertion retains negotiators’ concentrate on a deal path slightly than a reset. Meaning the subsequent observable step for market individuals is a revised date or a brand new draft that resolves the yield dispute with out shedding votes wanted to advance the invoice.
A number of legislative outcomes stay according to the report now out there. One path is a rewrite that constrains deposit-like yield whereas allowing narrowly outlined incentive applications, utilizing definitions and disclosures that separate bank-like merchandise from platform advertising and marketing.
A second path is an extended delay if negotiators can not agree on whether or not rewards ought to be restricted on the stablecoin degree, the trade degree, or each. That danger seems elevated the place applications resemble shopper financial savings yields and business teams publicly sign a willingness to simply accept delay.
A 3rd path is the invoice shifting with some business assist even when a big trade stays opposed. That consequence would align with reporting that coalition dynamics have been already strained across the markup window.
Market individuals monitoring likelihood are additionally watching sentiment venues that outline decision off official sources. Polymarket listed a 2026 CLARITY Act consequence contract that references Congress.gov and official authorities sources for settlement, although the market worth itself shouldn’t be an official forecast.
For merchants and compliance groups, that settlement language makes the subsequent committee posting and any up to date invoice textual content extra related than social-media claims, since official actions drive each legislative progress and contractual decision standards.
For now, the one formal change is procedural and documented: Senate Banking postponed the Jan. 15 CLARITY Act markup whereas negotiations proceed. The committee has not posted a brand new date within the sources out there right here.