Stalled CLARITY Act Still Has a Shot as Industry Scrambles to Solve Stablecoin Yield Fight

A former White House crypto adviser says the stalled crypto market-structure bill still has a shot — but time is running out.

Speaking Monday at the Digital Assets at Duke Conference, Bo Hines, CEO of Tether US and former executive director of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, expressed confidence that the CLARITY Act will ultimately pass despite recent setbacks. In an interview with journalist Eleanor Terret, Hines said he’s “actually confident that CLARITY will get passed,” even after negotiations hit a snag over stablecoin yield rules.

The controversy centers on Senate Banking Committee language that would restrict payments of stablecoin yield to address banks’ concerns about deposit flight risk. That policy prompted strong pushback from the crypto industry and forced the committee to postpone its mid-January markup. Lawmakers and industry leaders have been negotiating ever since, scrambling to bridge the divide before an apparent White House end‑of‑month deadline.

“With both sides in the pressure cooker,” Hines said, “they understand concessions will be necessary.” The digital‑assets sector has already floated compromises — including proposals to give community banks a larger role in the stablecoin ecosystem — to keep the bill viable.

Hines also pointed to recent regulatory moves that could help smooth a settlement. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has begun issuing conditional licenses to more native crypto firms, he noted, creating a potential pathway to “protect banks from deposit flight, but also allow these crypto companies to be innovative and offer different solutions to their customers.”

Momentum matters, Hines added, particularly under an administration he described as “extremely pro‑digital assets.” He urged the industry to capitalize on the current legislative window and the work it has already invested in political engagement.

Other senior crypto advisers echoed the urgency. Patrick Witt, executive director of the U.S. President’s Crypto Council, said teams are “working hard to address the issues that were raised” and hope to reschedule the postponed markup “soon.” But he warned that the legislative window is shrinking as the midterm campaign season approaches and draws attention away from policy work.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also pressed Congress to move quickly. He said the administration aims to get CLARITY to President Donald Trump’s desk before the spring legislative window closes, arguing that momentum could collapse if Democrats regain control in November and reverse course. “There’s a lot of innovation that goes on adjacent to crypto, the blockchain, and DeFi. So, I think it’s important to get this clarity bill done as soon as possible and on the president’s desk this spring,” Bessent said.

For now, negotiations continue between lawmakers, bank officials and crypto leaders. The outcome will hinge on whether both industries concede enough ground — fast — to revive the stalled markup and push CLARITY across the finish line.

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