- The Senate Banking Committee has set May 14 for the CLARITY Act markup as legislators rush to meet the July 4 Trump deadline.
- Banks are pressing legislators to enforce regulations against crypto firms offering yield, while Coinbase and Kraken lead a petition against anti-manipulation stipulations.
The path toward passing the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 is starting to take shape, but the crypto vs. banking wrangles are only getting more heated. The Senate’s banking committee has set a date for the Act’s markup, but both sides say their concerns have yet to be addressed.
Late on Friday, the Senate Committee on Banking and Housing announced that it would convene on May 14 to consider the bill, popularly known as the CLARITY Act.
🚨NEW: @BankingGOP Committee markup of the Clarity Act set for Thursday, May 14 at 10:30 AM EST. https://t.co/epKcnYtXmq pic.twitter.com/hRT714JdwN
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) May 8, 2026
In the Senate, markup is a process in which legislators review the bill comprehensively, propose amendments, debate the provisions, and then vote on the final version to send to the Senate floor. This is a critical stage that kickstarts the bill’s passage, and which the crypto community has been awaiting. As ETHNews reported, Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno pledged to have the markup stage next week.
For Senators, moving ahead with the CLARITY Act might be about more than just offering regulatory guidance for crypto firms. As we reported, pushing the bill could secure a sizable chunk of votes for the legislators in the upcoming midterm elections in November. According to a recent study, 52% of Americans support the Act, and 47% would even consider voting for a candidate from the opposing party who supports it.
Banks and Crypto Square Off on CLARITY ActÂ
Lawmakers are playing their part in moving the CLARITY Act along, with the White House intent on having President Trump gift it to American crypto investors by Independence Day on July 4.
However, the Act is no closer to appeasing both banks and crypto companies.
A coalition representing some of the largest banks in the US has released a statement criticizing the Act. Specifically, the lenders are targeting the stablecoin yield, which has been the sticking point between both sides.
The coalition included the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the National Bankers Association and the Financial Services Forum.
New today – banking trade groups urge Senate Banking leaders to strengthen stablecoin yield guardrails to prevent deposit flight: https://t.co/VFRvvH54eS pic.twitter.com/5FzHJyp51e
— American Bankers Association (@ABABankers) May 8, 2026
The letter wants Senators to strengthen the language that restricts crypto firms from offering yield on stablecoin holdings. The two lawmakers involved in amending the stablecoin sections, Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks, previously announced a compromise: crypto firms would not offer rewards that are “economically or functionally equivalent” to interest on bank deposits.
However, they could still issue rewards for governance, staking, validation, and other blockchain-specific activities that banks do not offer.
The bankers now say that this is not good enough. In their letter, they claim that crypto firms can still work around the prohibitions and offer yield. This, they argue, would make bank deposits less attractive to consumers who would switch to stablecoin issuers with higher yield.
But with the markup scheduled for May 14, it appears the Senators are proceeding despite the banking sector’s concerns.
While crypto firms seem to be winning the stablecoin battle, they have their own grievances against the CLARITY Act. Led by Coinbase, Kraken and Gemini, a group of crypto companies wants Senators to remove language that restricts trading to assets “not readily susceptible to manipulation.” They say that this language is deliberately vague and could be used to target most small-cap cryptos.
