The White House hosts executives from Coinbase, Ripple, and major banks Monday to resolve the CLARITY Act deadlock over yield-bearing stablecoins.
The Trump administration is convening senior executives from the cryptocurrency and banking industries on Monday, February 2nd, in a high-stakes attempt to salvage the CLARITY Act—a landmark piece of legislation that has been stalled for weeks due to an irreconcilable dispute over yield-bearing stablecoins.
The meeting, hosted by the White House crypto policy council led by David Sacks, will bring together representatives from Coinbase, Ripple, Kraken, a16z, the Blockchain Association, The Digital Chamber, and major traditional banks. According to Reuters, the summit will focus specifically on how the bill treats interest and rewards that crypto firms can offer on customer holdings of dollar-pegged stablecoins.
The conflict is fundamental. Banks argue that allowing crypto companies to offer yield on stablecoins could drain trillions of dollars in deposits away from the traditional financial system. Since deposits are the primary funding source for most lenders, a large-scale shift toward stablecoins could, in their view, increase systemic risk and undermine financial stability. Bank lobbyists have warned that this could threaten the foundation of the US financial system.
Crypto firms see it differently. They argue that offering rewards is essential to competing fairly in the financial marketplace and attracting users. Industry leaders contend that banning or heavily restricting yield mechanisms would put digital asset companies at a structural disadvantage compared to traditional financial products like savings accounts and money market funds, which have long offered interest.
The disagreement came to a head in mid-January when Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong publicly withdrew support for the CLARITY Act, calling the current compromise "worse than no law at all." Armstrong argued that the bill as written gives banks preferential treatment while handicapping crypto companies' ability to compete. Coinbase reported $355 million in stablecoin-related revenue in Q3 2025 and offers yields to holders of its USDC stablecoin, making this issue existential for its business model.
Not all crypto players agree with Coinbase's position. Ripple, Kraken, a16z, and several major trade groups still support the CLARITY Act, indicating that the industry itself is divided. Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, said in a statement that the group is "proud to participate" in the meeting and looks forward to advancing lasting market structure legislation.
The CLARITY Act has been in development for months and represents the culmination of years of crypto industry lobbying. It aims to create clear federal rules for digital assets, defining responsibilities between the SEC and CFTC, and providing legal certainty for companies operating in the US. The bill was expected to reach President Trump's desk earlier this year, but negotiations have repeatedly stalled over stablecoin yield provisions.
If the White House cannot broker a compromise by Monday, the legislation could remain in limbo through late February or March. Some analysts warn that failure to pass comprehensive regulation would force digital assets into what Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan described as a "show me" period, potentially pushing capital and innovation to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions.
The stakes are high. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has predicted the US stablecoin market could grow nearly eightfold to over $2 trillion in the coming years, representing a massive opportunity for both traditional finance and crypto. Whether the CLARITY Act survives depends on whether these historically adversarial industries can find common ground—and whether the Trump administration can successfully mediate what has become one of the most contentious regulatory debates in recent US financial history.
