All articles tagged with #stablecoins
As the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act moves to the Senate, Ethereum and Solana could benefit from provisions around stablecoins and blockchain adoption by financial institutions, while XRP stands to gain from safer on-chain integration for banks. With a White House target of July 4 for passage, the act could trigger a summer rally if these tokens receive regulatory clarity and institutional support.
Coinbase and Robinhood shares fell after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act, with traders taking profits after the initial optimism. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong remains critical of the bill, flagging restrictions on stablecoin yields, limits on tokenized equity, and DeFi surveillance provisions. The legislation still faces a tough path to 60 votes in the full Senate amid political hurdles. Analysts here rate COIN a Moderate Buy with a $247 12‑month target, implying about 16% upside as investors weigh regulatory risk.
A high-stakes fight over a landmark crypto-regulation bill is reshaping Senate alliances: Wall Street banks back a Tillis–Alsobrooks compromise to curb crypto-yield rewards and stem potential deposits flight, while Elizabeth Warren and progressive Democrats push for tougher stablecoin restrictions. With most Republicans reluctant to concede, the banking lobby is pushing for more changes as the bill advances through the Senate Banking Committee, signaling a rare convergence between Warren and banks against some GOP allies and crypto interests.
A coalition of major banking trade groups criticizes a compromise in the Clarity Act that would ban stablecoin yield but allow certain rewards tied to balances or governance, arguing those exemptions could let crypto firms evade the prohibition. They urge tightening the language before a Senate Banking Committee vote, as lawmakers rush to advance digital-asset legislation amid looming elections and ongoing industry lobbying.
Senate negotiators are set to advance a bipartisan crypto-regulation bill that would ban stablecoin rewards resembling interest, reflecting crypto lobbying power gaining traction in Washington as regulators push to mainstream finance and pass the CLARITY Act.
Circle (CRCL) jumped about 18% after lawmakers reached a weekend compromise on the CLARITY Act that curbs passive stablecoin deposits but preserves rewards tied to user activity; the development also boosted Coinbase and other crypto names, and analysts see a Moderate Buy on CRCL with upside around mid-teens (roughly 16%) to a target of about $136.56.
Lawmakers revised the CLARITY Act to bar crypto firms from offering passive stablecoin yields, reserving such returns for traditional banks, while allowing usage-based rewards tied to activity like trading or staking. The compromise is a win for Circle and Coinbase, with Circle up about 16% and Coinbase more than 7% as markets digest the development; Bitcoin hovered near $79–80k. Banks welcomed the move for reducing deposit flight and enabling regulated digital-asset infrastructure, though smaller platforms reliant on high-yield deposits could face pressure.
Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks finalized a compromise on the Clarity Act’s stablecoin yield provisions (Section 404), barring ‘covered parties’ from paying interest or yield on stablecoins while permitting activity-based rewards. Regulators must issue rules within a year, with civil penalties up to $5 million per violation and a two-year congressional report on stablecoin adoption, yields, and deposit impacts. The agreement ends months-long stalemate and paves a path for a Senate Banking Committee markup, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong urging lawmakers to “mark it up” even as a markup date has not yet been set.
Sen. Tillis and Sen. Alsobrooks finalized a compromise to restrict stablecoin yield and rewards, barring incentives that resemble interest on deposits and directing regulators to prepare new disclosure rules and a framework for permissible rewards as part of a broader crypto policy push.
Visa reported Q2 FY2026 net revenue up 17% to $11.2B and EPS up 20%, prompting a raised full-year net revenue growth target to the low-double-digit to low-teens range and a $33B total buyback capacity. Growth drivers include value-added services, commercial/money-movement solutions, and stablecoin settlement, with acquisitions such as Prisma and Newpay cited. Near-term cross-border spend headwinds from geopolitical tensions in the CEMEA region are noted, but diversification and cross-border e-commerce support the outlook.
Senior central bankers warn that the rapid rise of USD-denominated stablecoins used in international payments could accelerate dollarisation in emerging markets, threaten monetary sovereignty, and facilitate illicit activity and capital-control evasion; while some officials see faster, cheaper cross-border payments as a benefit, regulators are racing to craft rules and a BIS-led effort to tokenize deposits aims to counter the threat; EM holdings of dollar stablecoins could reach about $1.22tn by 2028, up from roughly $173bn today.
The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN and OFAC issued a joint proposed rule to implement GENIUS Act provisions, proposing that permitted payment stablecoin issuers be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and must adopt effective AML and sanctions‑compliance programs; the rule aims to curb illicit finance while enabling innovation in the payment stablecoin space and invites public comments ahead of publication in the Federal Register.
A White House analysis finds that prohibiting yields on stablecoins would have only a modest impact on bank lending. Baseline results show removing stablecoin yield increases lending by about $2.1 billion with a net welfare cost of $800 million (0.02% lending rise; 6.6 to 1 cost-benefit). Large banks would supply about 76% of the new lending, with community banks around 24% (~$500 million, 0.026%). Even under extreme, implausible assumptions, aggregate lending rises to at most $531 billion (4.4%), only if the stablecoin market expands sixfold and the Fed rethinks its monetary framework; community banks could still gain up to $129 billion (6.7%). The report concludes the yield ban would do little to protect bank lending while sacrificing potential consumer benefits from competitive yields.
Mastercard announced a definitive agreement to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion (including $300 million in contingent payments) to expand its digital-asset capabilities and connect fiat rails to on-chain payments. The deal aims to enable financial institutions to offer stablecoins and tokenized deposits across 130+ countries, combining BVNK’s cross-network infrastructure with Mastercard’s network for faster, interoperable value transfer across currencies and use cases like cross-border remittances, P2P and B2B payments. The transaction remains subject to regulatory review and is expected to close by year-end.
A fast-growing generation of dollar-pegged stablecoins is backed by U.S. Treasuries, offering faster payments and potentially lower financing costs, but bankers and regulators warn of systemic risks as President Trump signals openness to their use in traditional finance.