May 1 (Reuters) - Coinbase said on Friday a deal has been reached on a key provision in a landmark crypto legislation that could clear the path for the bill to move forward in the U.S. Senate.
• The bill stalled earlier this year because banks opposed a provision allowing stablecoin issuers and crypto firms to offer yield-bearing products and other rewards paid on stablecoins that could lure away bank deposits, making it harder for them to fund lending.
• Crypto giants such as Coinbase said they must
be able to offer rewards to recruit customers and that barring them would be anticompetitive.
• "In the end, the banks were able to get more restrictions on rewards, but we protected what matters – the ability for Americans to earn rewards, based on real usage of crypto platforms and networks," Coinbase's Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said in a post on X.
• Punchbowl News, which reported the text of the compromise finalized by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, said the language includes a broad prohibition on rewards offered "in a manner that is economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit".
• The text also directs regulators to propose a new series of stablecoin regulations, including the development of a new stablecoin disclosure regime and a list of permissible reward activities, Punchbowl News added. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
• Crypto companies have been operating in a regulatory gray area, which executives say has stymied their businesses. The proposed Clarity Act aims to create clear regulations that should help promote cryptocurrency adoption.
• President Donald Trump, who courted crypto cash on the campaign trail and whose family has profited from its own token, has prioritized crypto reform during his second administration.
(Reporting by Natalia Bueno Rebolledo in Mexico City; Editing by William Mallard)
