Overview
- Committee Chair Tim Scott confirmed the markup is postponed with no new date set as talks continue with lawmakers and industry.
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange cannot back the draft, citing stablecoin reward curbs, a de facto ban on tokenized equities, DeFi restrictions, and concerns over shifting authority toward the SEC.
- At issue is whether firms can offer yield-style benefits on payment stablecoins: the draft bars interest for simply holding but permits activity-based rewards, which banking groups oppose as a threat to deposits.
- A source familiar with talks said a more restrictive stablecoin amendment may be filed that could have the votes to pass the committee.
- The industry is split, with a16z, Circle, Kraken, Ripple, Coin Center, and others urging progress, while Democrats press for ethics rules that would block senior officials, including the president, from profiting from crypto; the Senate Agriculture Committee also delayed its related session.