Two U.S. senators at the center of a months-long stalemate on crypto market structure legislation say they've reached a breakthrough. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Sen. Angela Alsobrooks announced an "agreement in principle" on stablecoin yield rules inside the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act — potentially clearing one of the biggest obstacles to moving the bill forward in the Senate Banking Committee.

The Yield Dispute

The core fight was over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to pay yields to token holders. Banks argued that yield-bearing stablecoins would mimic interest on deposits, threatening to pull capital out of the traditional banking system — a concern regulators describe as "deposit flight."

The compromise, according to Alsobrooks, would prohibit yield payments on passive stablecoin balances. Exact legislative text hadn't been shared with industry stakeholders as of Friday; they expected to see draft language no earlier than Monday.

What Comes Next

Even with the yield question provisionally resolved, the Clarity Act still faces other open issues — including ethics provisions and illicit finance rules — before it can secure a broad bipartisan vote. The White House was actively reviewing updated legislative text as of Thursday.

The bill had previously stalled in January after Coinbase and other major crypto players raised objections over the stablecoin yield provisions. Earlier this year, the GENIUS Act laid groundwork for stablecoin regulation, but the broader market structure bill had lagged behind.

The agreement puts the Clarity Act back in motion heading into a pivotal stretch for crypto legislation in Washington.