U.S. Congress Stablecoin Incentive Battle: Bank Lobbying vs. Crypto Competitiveness

【BlockBeats】A heated debate about stablecoins has erupted again in the US Congress. The CEO of a leading crypto exchange recently went to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers, mainly to advocate for the continued implementation of stablecoin reward policies. He openly stated that banking lobbying groups are attempting to block the earning functions of stablecoins through new legislative provisions, and the logic behind this move is clear—banks are afraid of losing customer funds.

The reasoning is simple: when users can earn higher yields on stablecoins on crypto platforms, why would they keep their money in banks? Traditional financial institutions are well aware of this, so they have united in lobbying efforts, aiming to weaken the competitiveness of crypto platforms through legal means. The CEO believes that Americans should have the right to choose independently and use their funds to maximize earnings.

What’s more interesting is the initial bargaining. The draft of the Digital Asset Market Structure Act by the Senate committee originally included a compromise clause: banning deposit yields but allowing other forms such as trading rewards. As a result, the CEO’s opposition led the committee chair to decide to postpone action on the bill for now. But the show is not over; senators now plan to submit an amendment to fully ban all forms of stablecoin rewards. The outcome of the vote remains to be seen.

At its core, this tug-of-war is a confrontation between traditional finance and the emerging crypto industry. Whether stablecoins can continue to offer rewards directly affects the competitiveness and user attraction of exchanges.