Banks spend $200M opposing US crypto bill

TLDR

Major US banks have reportedly spent around $200 million lobbying against the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a key pro-crypto bill that just failed in the Senate.

1. Coinbases policy chief says large banks collectively put about $200 million into a campaign to block the CLARITY Acts progress in the Senate.
2. Banks focused their spending on weakening stablecoin provisions they fear could trigger deposit flight from community banks and compete with traditional interest-bearing accounts.
3. The bills defeat keeps US crypto under fragmented agency oversight, so the next phase will be SEC and CFTC rulemaking plus another round of heavy lobbying from both banks and crypto firms.

Deep Dive

1. The 200 Million Campaign

Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said major banks collectively spent about $200 million lobbying against the CLARITY Act, arguing that this well funded opposition helped stall the bill late in the legislative cycle. His comments came after the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to advance the act, effectively shelving it for the current Congress. That spending sits alongside more than $100 million in pro-crypto election and lobbying money from industry groups, highlighting how both sides now treat crypto rules as a top tier political battlefield.

2. Why Banks Fought The Bill

Banking trade groups, including the American Bankers Association and dozens of state banking associations, warned that CLARITYs stablecoin rules could allow interest like rewards on payment stablecoins that compete with bank deposits, especially at community banks. They criticized a proposed Treasury circuit breaker that only activates after deposit flight, insisting the bill itself should preemptively ban such rewards to protect lending capacity for mortgages and small business credit. This opposition, combined with Democratic concerns over presidential crypto ethics, was repeatedly cited as a central reason the bill failed to clear the Senate.

3. What Changes For Crypto

With the CLARITY Act blocked, comprehensive, Congress written US crypto market structure rules are delayed. Coverage now points to the SEC, CFTC and bank regulators taking a larger role through rulemaking instead, while industry lobbies regroup for another legislative attempt. In the meantime, crypto firms must navigate agency enforcement risk, and stablecoin business models will be constrained by existing rules and ongoing political scrutiny over yield and deposit competition.

Conclusion

Banks spending an estimated $200 million against the CLARITY Act helped turn a pro-crypto bill into a legislative failure, preserving their control over deposit style products for now. For crypto, this extends a period of regulatory uncertainty where agencies, not Congress, set the rules, and where the next meaningful shift is likely to come only after another round of high stakes lobbying and political negotiation.