Coinbase said a deal has been reached on one of the biggest sticking points in the US Crypto CLARITY Act, reopening momentum for a bill that had been stalled in the Senate for months. The announcement came on Friday. The next formal step is a markup session in the Senate Banking Committee, where lawmakers would debate and approve the final text, with leaders targeting early to mid-May 2026.
Stablecoin rewards were the main source of deadlock
The measure had been bogged down by a clash between banks and crypto firms over rewards tied to stablecoins. Digital asset companies, including Coinbase, wanted users to be able to earn rewards for holding stablecoins. Banks pushed back. Their concern was that attractive crypto yields could pull deposits out of bank accounts and reduce the funding base used for loans such as mortgages and auto financing.
That dispute stalled the broader US crypto market structure bill earlier this year. Coinbase even withdrew support for the legislation in January, arguing the rules were unfair. At that stage, the Digital Asset Clarity Act was widely seen as at risk of failing altogether.
What the compromise would allow
Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks put forward a middle-ground proposal to break the impasse. Under the deal, crypto companies would not be allowed to offer rewards that function like traditional bank interest. At the same time, rewards linked to actual platform use would remain permitted, including incentives tied to payments or transfers.
The proposal also calls for the government to create a list of permissible rewards so the boundaries are clear. Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said the agreement preserved the ability for Americans to earn rewards based on real usage. In policy terms, the arrangement is being treated as a major step in US digital asset regulation talks.
The Senate now faces a narrow timetable
With the rewards fight easing, the legislative clock is moving faster. If the Senate Banking Committee approves the bill this month, it would still need a vote on the full Senate floor. After that, lawmakers must reconcile it with the version passed by the House last year. The process is short on time and long on procedure.
2026 is an election year, and Congress typically slows major lawmaking by summer as members leave Washington to campaign. The source says the odds of passage fall sharply if action slips past mid-May. Each week of delay makes it harder to complete the Senate vote and bicameral reconciliation before the November midterms.
White House backing is part of the picture
The report says President Donald Trump has made the 2026 digital asset bill a priority alongside SAVE America, aiming to position the US as a leader in digital assets. It also says continued progress on the CLARITY Act could support clearer rules and could help boost US crypto ETFs.
Even so, the bill is still several steps away from becoming law. The source estimates that the new agreement leaves the Crypto CLARITY Act with a 50-50 chance of passing this year. Whether it can clear committee review, win a Senate vote, and be aligned with the House version will likely be decided in the coming weeks.