Industry alliance pushes CLARITY Act toward markup

TLDR

A broad crypto industry coalition is backing a compromise on the CLARITY Act and urging the US Senate Banking Committee to finally hold a markup on the bill.

1. More than 100 crypto firms and trade groups have endorsed the CLARITY Act compromise and signed a joint letter pressing Senate Banking to schedule a markup.
2. The key deal bans deposit-like passive yield on stablecoins while preserving activity-based rewards, addressing banks concerns without killing all crypto rewards programs.
3. A markup would be a critical step toward a full Senate vote, but political risks and potential amendments mean passage is not guaranteed yet.

Deep Dive

1. Industry Alliance And Its Push

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) aims to define when tokens are securities versus commodities and set clearer US rules for digital asset markets.

According to a coalition letter coordinated by the Blockchain Association and Crypto Council for Innovation, more than 100 crypto companies including exchanges, custodians and DeFi projects have endorsed the latest compromise and urged the Senate Banking Committee to schedule a markup of the bill. This alliance seeks to show lawmakers that the industry is unusually unified behind this framework, after prior attempts like FIT21 stalled without such consensus.

2. Stablecoin Yield Deal And Tradeoffs

The remaining obstacle had been how to treat interest-like rewards on stablecoins. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks negotiated language that bans crypto platforms from paying yield that is economically or functionally equivalent to interest on a bank deposit, while allowing rewards tied to bona fide user activity.

Reports on the compromise explain that this effectively outlaws passive buy and hold stablecoin savings account style products, but keeps room for rewards based on actions like payments, trading, staking, or governance, subject to future rulemaking by regulators such as Treasury and the CFTC. Major firms like Coinbase and Circle have backed this deal, even as some groups warn it goes further than prior GENIUS Act limits by covering all digital asset market participants, not just issuers.

3. Why Markup Matters And What To Watch

A Senate Banking Committee markup is the formal session where senators debate, amend and vote on whether to send the CLARITY Act to the full Senate. Without markup, the bill cannot advance. The stablecoin compromise removed the main procedural excuse for delaying this step, and some reporting suggests the committee is tentatively targeting a markup window in May.

Even with industry backing and prediction markets putting the odds of passage in 2026 around the low 60 percent range, the bill still faces risks from partisan disputes over ethics provisions, DeFi, and law enforcement powers, along with possible amendments that could alter its balance between banks and crypto firms.

Conclusion

The CLARITY Acts stablecoin yield compromise shows banks and crypto firms have finally struck a functional truce that unlocks progress in Congress. An allied industry push for markup increases the odds that US markets get a coherent digital asset framework, yet the final law could still shift in committee or on the Senate floor. For now, the headline takeaway is that US regulatory risk is moving from pure uncertainty toward defined rules, especially around stablecoins and reward programs, but the exact shape of those rules will only be clear once markup and subsequent votes are complete.