TLDR
- Senator Thom Tillis has urged Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott to delay the CLARITY Act markup until May
- The main sticking point is how stablecoin yield and rewards should be treated in the legislation
- Banking groups fear stablecoin yield could pull deposits away from traditional banks
- Crypto advocacy group The Digital Chamber is pushing for the bill to move forward immediately
- Senator Moreno previously warned that if the bill doesn’t pass by May, crypto legislation may stall indefinitely
The US Senate’s crypto market structure bill, known as the CLARITY Act, is facing another delay. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, told reporters Monday that he does not expect the Senate Banking Committee to mark up the bill in April. He has asked Committee Chair Tim Scott to schedule it for May instead.
News: Sen. Tillis (R-NC) told Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) the panel should not plan to advance a major crypto bill in April.
Negotiators need more time to finalize a bank-crypto compromise on stablecoin yield, Tillis said, pointing to a potential May markup pic.twitter.com/PIaAjPCb24
— Brendan Pedersen (@BrendanPedersen) April 20, 2026
Tillis has been one of the key negotiators working to bridge differences between the banking and crypto industries. He told reporters it was important to give all parties time to be heard before moving forward.
The bill passed the full House nearly a year ago with bipartisan support. It has since cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee, but still needs to get through the Senate Banking Committee before it can go to a full Senate floor vote.
The Stablecoin Yield Dispute
The main holdup is a disagreement over stablecoin rewards. The banking industry is concerned that allowing stablecoin issuers or platforms to pay yield to holders could pull deposits out of traditional banks, especially smaller community banks.
Those banks may not have the financial flexibility to absorb large deposit outflows, the industry argues.
On the other side, crypto companies including Coinbase have pushed for more favorable terms around stablecoin rewards. They argue that restricting rewards would hurt innovation.
The current draft language, as of last week, would ban rewards on idle stablecoin balances but allow yield tied to activity like transactions. A source told The Block that it would be difficult to change the text at this point.
Senators Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland, have been working together to resolve this issue.
Industry Pressure Builds
The Digital Chamber, a crypto advocacy group, sent a letter Monday to the Senate Banking Committee urging it to advance the legislation to a markup “as soon as the calendar allows.”
The letter was signed by CEO Cody Carbone and addressed to both Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, the top Republican and Democrat on the committee.
“More than 70 million Americans who have embraced digital assets deserve the regulatory clarity they have waited far too long for,” said Taylor Barr, the group’s government affairs director.
The Digital Chamber noted it has been more than 270 days since the House passed the bill.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also been applying pressure. In March, he warned that if Democrats were to take the House in the November midterms, the chances of passing the bill could fall apart.
Senator Bernie Moreno previously warned at the DC Blockchain Summit that if the bill did not pass by May, “digital asset legislation will not pass for the foreseeable future.”
This week, Senate Banking Committee attention will first turn to Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s nominee for Federal Reserve Chair.
