The two US senators negotiating a controversial provision of the crypto industry market structure bill – Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks – have reportedly agreed on a compromise that could move the industry’s top priority to the next stage in the Senate.
Politico reported that the two agreed in principle on a stable coin yield approach in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which could potentially eliminate one of the major unresolved issues in the sweeping bill. Yet no further details were revealed other than Alsobrooks reiterated that the yield deal would prohibit rewards on passive stablecoin balances.
Bankers had argued that stablecoin rewards on holdings of U.S. dollar-linked tokens could closely resemble interest on bank deposits, and that any threats to this essential part of the U.S. banking system could endanger lending. Alsobrooks and Tillis agreed to find an approach that would not threaten the banking sector.
“Senator Tillis and I have an agreement in principle,” Alsobrooks told Politico on Friday. “We’ve come a long way. And I think this will allow us to protect innovation, but also give us the opportunity to prevent widespread deposit leakage.”
The White House was reviewing the updated legislation on Thursday, CoinDesk previously reported. White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday’s development.
Industry insiders told CoinDesk they are aware of a new compromise, but they have not yet seen the legislative text that senators agreed on.
Although the stablecoin issue has been at the forefront of Clarity Act negotiations, there remain a number of other issues to be resolved, including the bill’s treatment of decentralized finance (DeFi), an area of the industry in which some Democrats have expressed concern over illicit finance.
Lawmakers have suggested in recent days that the Clarity Act could be the subject of a Senate Banking Committee hearing late next month. If approved there, it advances to the Senate, although it must first be merged with a similar version already passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Advocates were hoping for a resolution in May after years of legislative effort. But the Senate’s speaking time is limited, and it is threatened by unrelated issues, such as the Republican voter ID bill and the back-and-forth over the Iran war.
Read more: Key US senator on negotiating crypto market structure bill: ‘We think we got it’
UPDATE (March 20, 2026, 3:36 p.m. UTC): Adds a quote from Senator Alsobrooks.
