The US banking lobby is ramping up its last-minute efforts to filibuster the CLARITY Act just days before the Senate Banking Committee is scheduled to appear on May 14.
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- Five major banking groups jointly rejected the yield settlement on the Tillis-Alsobrooks stablecoin, calling it insufficient days before the May 14 rate increase.
- Senators Lummis and Tillis have publicly defended the deal, warning that banking opposition may aim to kill the Clarity Act entirely.
- Prediction markets currently estimate the odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 at more than 60%, with the White House targeting a presidential signature on July 4.
The American Bankers Association, Banking Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, and Independent Bankers of America issued a joint statement this week to reject Compromise stablecoin yield language drafted by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks. The coalition said the proposed language falls short of its policy goals and leaves dangerous loopholes that could lead to a flight of deposits from traditional banks.
The banking groups argue that Section 404 of the CLARITY Act still allows cryptocurrency platforms to offer rewards tied to account balances and how long users hold assets, which they say amounts to offering interest on deposits under a different name. “Research shows that profitable-yielding stablecoins can reduce all loans to consumers, small businesses and farmers by a fifth or more,” the coalition said. He said in their joint statement, adding that “it is imperative that Congress gets this right.”
Lumis and Tillis back down
The response from the bill’s sponsors was immediate. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, to publish On Senator Tillis, who co-authored the deal, was more vocal in his opposition, warning that some factions within traditional finance may simply oppose any version of the CLARITY Act and use the stablecoin yield debate as a mechanism to stall the legislation indefinitely.
Tillis’ closing line in his public defense left little room for ambiguity: “Some in the banking industry may not want either of those things to happen, and we respectfully agree to disagree.” The simultaneous public defense from Loomis and Tillis suggests the bipartisan coalition behind the settlement remains holding as the markup window narrows.
The CLARITY Act received House approval by a vote of 294-134 in July 2025, and was passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee in January 2026, but was repeatedly stalled in the Senate Banking Committee due to a dispute over stablecoin yields. Such as crypto.news I mentionedSenators including Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno said failure before the May 21 Memorial Day recess could push the next viable window to 2030.
What comes next?
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott confirmed the hearing will take place on May 14 at 10:30 a.m. The White House has set a target date of July 4 for passage, with cryptocurrency advisor Patrick Witt describing the stablecoin return deal as closed. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse He said In this week’s Miami 2026 consensus, last week marked a “huge positive shift” in Senate momentum.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, estimated the odds of the bill passing at about 50-50, while prediction markets currently put the number above 60%. The HarrisX poll was released this week Found 52% of registered American voters support the CLARITY Act, while 47% said they would consider supporting a candidate outside their preferred party if that candidate supported the legislation and their candidate did not.
For a bill to reach the president’s desk, it must pass the Senate Banking Committee’s markup, pass the 60-vote threshold, be reconciled with the Senate Agriculture Committee’s version, and then reconciled with the House-passed text. Each of these steps carries the risk of failure.
