White House schedules stablecoin summit with banks

TLDR

The White House has called a high-stakes stablecoin meeting with major banks and crypto firms to break a deadlock over how regulated dollar stablecoins can pay yield.

1. On 10 Feb, senior policy staff from banks like JPMorgan and Bank of America and crypto groups such as Coinbase, Circle and Ripple will meet at the White House to discuss stablecoin rules.
2. The central fight is over interest-bearing stablecoins and related access to Federal Reserve "skinny" payment accounts, which banks say could drain deposits while crypto firms see them as essential innovation.
3. A compromise this month could unlock the CLARITY Act market-structure bill and set long-term ground rules for stablecoin yields, reserves and DeFi, while failure likely prolongs US regulatory uncertainty.

Deep Dive

1. Who Is Meeting And What Is On The Table

Multiple reports say the White House will host a second stablecoin-focused meeting on 10 Feb 2026, bringing senior staff from large banks and crypto trade groups together to seek a deal on stablecoin yields and infrastructure access. Attendees are reported to include JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and possibly Citi, PNC and U.S. Bank, alongside crypto representatives such as Coinbase, Circle and Ripple, with trade associations in the room rather than CEOs.

Coverage from outlets like CryptoBriefing describes this as a follow-up to an earlier White House session that ended without agreement on whether digital asset firms should be allowed to pay interest on stablecoins, a dispute that is blocking progress on the CLARITY Act market-structure bill. A linked issue is the Federal Reserve's proposed "skinny" master accounts, which would give eligible fintech and stablecoin issuers limited direct access to Fed payment rails.

2. Why Stablecoin Yield Worries Banks

Banks argue that interest-paying stablecoins could pull very large sums out of traditional deposits into dollar tokens that sit in crypto wallets or platforms instead. Some analyses cite Treasury estimates that as much as several trillion dollars of deposits could be at theoretical risk if stablecoin rewards significantly outcompete bank deposit rates. That would shrink banks' cheap funding base and could pressure lending and financial stability.

Crypto firms counter that yield is a legitimate way to share reserve income and drive adoption, and that an outright ban would stifle US innovation and push activity offshore. One compromise being floated is to distinguish passive "on-balance" interest from usage-based rewards, for example cashback on payments or limited activity incentives, similar to how the EU's MiCA regime restricts interest-like benefits on stablecoins.

3. What To Watch Next For Crypto

Reports suggest the White House has pushed both sides to produce a compromise proposal by late February, which would then feed into revised CLARITY Act language and into the Fed's final rules on skinny accounts targeted for later this year.

Three scenarios are most relevant for crypto users:

1. A narrow deal that allows tightly capped or activity-based rewards while protecting bank deposits, likely unlocking the CLARITY Act and giving regulated stablecoins a clear federal framework.
2. A bank-favored outcome that effectively bans stablecoin interest, which could benefit offshore tokens like USDT but reduce the appeal of US regulated stablecoins and some centralized yield products.
3. Continued stalemate, which keeps US rules fragmented, slows institutional adoption and leaves DeFi and stablecoin businesses operating under ongoing regulatory overhang.

Conclusion

This White House stablecoin summit is less about one meeting's optics and more about who controls the future "digital dollar" balance sheet. A workable compromise on yield and Fed access would give US stablecoins clearer rules, support safer integration with banks and DeFi and reduce regulatory risk. If talks fail, the US could lag other regions on stablecoin clarity, and markets may stay volatile as key products remain in a grey zone.