Overview
- Committee Chair Tim Scott postponed the markup without setting a new date, saying talks with industry, regulators and lawmakers continue in good faith.
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company cannot back the draft, citing concerns over tokenized equities, DeFi provisions, the SEC–CFTC balance of power and potential bans on stablecoin rewards.
- The draft would divide oversight between the SEC and CFTC and clarifies token classifications, while barring interest for simply holding payment stablecoins but allowing activity-based rewards.
- Banking groups are lobbying for a broader prohibition on stablecoin yield programs, as key Democrats insist on unresolved ethics language tied to officials’ crypto interests.
- The Senate Agriculture Committee also delayed its related markup to later in January, and reports indicated the Banking panel lacked assured votes even before Coinbase’s reversal.