By Hannah Lang
Feb 3 (Reuters) – A White House meeting aimed at breaking a months‑long stalemate between major U.S. banks and cryptocurrency firms ended on Monday without any agreement, underscoring industry divisions that threaten progress on landmark digital‑asset legislation.
The closed‑door session, convened by the White House’s crypto council, brought together representatives from the crypto and banking industries in an effort to reach an agreement on stalled crypto market structure legislation. Both sides emerged from the meeting describing it as constructive, but fundamental disagreements that upended the bill’s progress remained unresolved.
Representatives of the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Blockchain Association and The Digital Chamber were among those in attendance.
“The White House continues to engage in productive conversations to advance President Trump’s agenda of cementing American dominance in the cutting-edge technologies of the future,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai in a statement.
STABLECOIN INTEREST A STICKING POINT
Crypto market structure legislation has been held up by a clash for months between the two industries over how the bill treats interest and other rewards paid on stablecoins. Banks have been pushing for language in the bill prohibiting the practice.
Crypto companies say providing rewards such as interest is crucial for recruiting new customers and that barring them from doing so would be anti-competitive. Banks say the increased competition could result in insured lenders experiencing an exodus of deposits – the primary source of funding for most banks – potentially threatening financial stability.
Monday’s White House meeting was intended to forge a compromise after the Senate Banking Committee postponed a vote last month amid rising objections from both sectors and fears the bill did not have enough support to advance to the full Senate.
While both sides in statements called the meeting constructive, it did not result in an agreement, according to one source who attended and declined to be identified discussing private policy discussions.
The source anticipated there would be subsequent White House meetings to try and resolve the impasse.
The Clarity Act aims to create federal rules for digital assets, the culmination of years of crypto industry lobbying. Crypto companies have long argued that existing rules are inadequate for digital assets, and that legislation is essential for companies to continue to operate with legal certainty in the U.S.
The House of Representatives passed its version of the bill in July.
(Reporting by Hannah Lang in New York; editing by Pete Schroeder, Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel)
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