Stablecoin Standoff: Crypto and Banks Remain Deadlocked Ahead of White House Deadline

Two meetings in, and another potentially in the works this week, but a deal has yet to be reached

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Crypto In America newsletter!

What you’ll read: Ahead of another potential White House meeting this week, we take a look at where things stand on the stablecoin yield argument. Plus, the CFTC’s who’s who advisory committee, and the SEC Chair takes the hot seat in front of the Senate. And Bo Hines joins the podcast.

Photo by Edoardo Cuoghi on Unsplash

Three weeks into February, the clock is ticking toward the White House’s end-of-month deadline for the crypto and banking industries to agree on the stablecoin yield issue — the lynchpin to advancing the Clarity Act. We’re two meetings in, and another is potentially in the works this week, but a deal has yet to be reached.

Last Tuesday, a gathering at the White House between senior policy staff from banks and crypto firms — plus trade group representatives — ended without a deal after the bank reps circulated a one-page document entitled, “Yield and Interest Prohibition Principles,” stating that any yield or rewards tied to stablecoins should be prohibited.

In response, the Digital Chamber, an industry trade association representing over 130 crypto firms and some traditional banks investing in digital assets, published its own version on Friday, proposing principles that would let payment stablecoins generate yield within decentralized finance, or DeFi.

“These principles push to preserve stablecoins as payment instruments, protect DeFi liquidity and dollar dominance, and establish a rigorous, data-driven framework for assessing deposit impact,” the group said.

The banks haven’t formally weighed in on the Chamber’s principles, but a source close to the Senate Banking Committee told Crypto In America the document was “constructive,” cautioning that some of the proposals may be too broad to win banks’ support.

So, what’s next?

Patrick Witt, the White House Crypto Council’s executive director, told Yahoo Finance on Friday that another meeting could take place as soon as this week, but did not indicate which day. Meanwhile, the House and Senate are both out on recess for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

It’s unclear whether a deal between can be reached by the end of the month, but the issue is one of the key hurdles left to clear before the Senate Banking Committee reschedules a committee vote to send the Clarity Act to the full Senate.

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CFTC Taps Crypto Big Wigs for Advisory Committee

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has tapped some of the leading voices in the crypto industry for seats on the agency’s new Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC), which aims to help advise the agency on innovation in financial markets.

CEOs from Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap, Kraken, Bullish and Grayscale, alongside executives from Wall Street heavyweights like Nasdaq, CME, CBOE and ICE made the 35-member list. Top executives from sports betting firms FanDuel and DraftKings, prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, and even representatives from trade groups like the Futures Industry Association (FIA) and International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) were also named to the committee.

The group was built off the initial wave of 10 names put together by former Acting Chair Caroline Pham last year before Selig was confirmed.

“By bringing together participants from every corner of the marketplace, the IAC will be a major asset for the Commission as we work to modernize our rules and regulations for the innovations of today and tomorrow,” Selig said.

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Paul Atkins Takes the Hot Seat

SEC Chair Paul Atkins | Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images

SEC Chair Paul Atkins faced the Senate Banking Committee last week with a message that was a clear break from his predecessor Gary Gensler: clear rules of the road instead of regulation by enforcement.

Tokenized securities are still securities, and investors have a right to hold their own assets in self-custody, he said, stressing that Congress must pass legislation to future-proof markets and prevent crypto innovators from getting stuck in regulatory gray areas.

On the issue of capital formation, Atkins signaled the SEC is open to updating its accredited investor rules, looking to alternative ways beyond income and net worth to demonstrate sophistication. He also flagged scrutiny on foreign private issuers, audit oversight, and the Consolidated Audit Trail — all areas where transparency, risk management, and cross-agency coordination matter.

Despite pushback from Democrats that the agency under his leadership had significantly scaled back enforcement and weakened investor protections, Atkins argued the SEC is actively monitoring fraud and market abuse — including in crypto — while avoiding overreach beyond its statutory authority. Across the board, he stressed coordination with the CFTC, modernizing rules, and data-driven oversight as key to keeping U.S. markets competitive without stifling innovation.

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👀 What To Watch This Week

Photo by Harold Mendoza on Unsplash

Monday

Happy Presidents’ Day! The House and Senate are both in recess this week.

ETHDenver kicks off in Denver, Colorado with events running throughout the week. Crypto In America will be on the ground. Wednesday

2:00 p.m. The Fed will offer clues into how it’s thinking about the economy and interest rates when it releases the minutes from its January Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Wednesday

The World Liberty Financial Forum kicks off at Mar-a-Lago and will feature leaders from across crypto, finance, technology, sports, media and government.

Friday

8:30 a.m.: The Commerce Department releases Q4 GDP estimates.

10:00 a.m.: The University of Michigan releases its final consumer sentiment survey for February.

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Bo Hines Gives First Interview Since USAT Launch

This week on the podcast, Eleanor and Gerald sat down at the Digital Assets at Duke Conference with Bo Hines, CEO of Tether US and former Executive Director of the White House Crypto Council, in his first interview since launching USAT in January.

In this conversation, we discuss the latest on Tether’s push into American markets with its “soft launch” of USAT, Bo’s thoughts on Clarity Act delays, where Tether stands on the yield debate, why he’s bullish on stablecoins expanding US global dominance, and why most securities will be tokenized.

Watch this episode on all platforms here.

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