The U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s review of the CLARITY Act, a crypto market structure bill, is increasingly likely to slip beyond April.

Punchbowl News, cited by blockchain outlet Cointelegraph, reported on Monday that Republican Senator Thom Tillis (톰 틸리스) advised Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (팀 스콧) to push the bill’s markup schedule back to May.

The core issue is a stablecoin interest provision. Tillis has led discussions between the crypto industry and the banking sector, and it was reported he judged that both sides still need more time to narrow their differences. "Rather than rushing the schedule, it is very important to hear everyone’s views and provide a reasonable basis for what we will accept," Tillis said.

Banks worry that attaching returns to stablecoins could lead to large outflows of deposits from traditional finance. In particular, regional banks say they may lack the financial capacity to withstand such outflows and could end up relying on more expensive wholesale funding.

The crypto industry, by contrast, is calling for more flexible stablecoin rules. Brian Armstrong (브라이언 암스트롱), chief executive of Coinbase, and others have argued that provisions favorable to the industry are needed. Last month, there was also talk that banks and the crypto industry came close to a compromise that would allow stablecoin rewards linked to activity on third-party crypto platforms, but not apply them to simple holding balances.

In the market, concerns are also growing that if delays in handling the bill become prolonged, passage before the November U.S. midterm elections could become difficult. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (스콧 베센트) said in March, "If Democrats take control of the House vote, the possibility of reaching an agreement will completely collapse." It was a warning that if the balance of power in Congress changes, momentum for passing the bill could weaken.

Amid this, industry lobbying group the Digital Chamber (The Digital Chamber) sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee the same day urging that the CLARITY Act be promptly brought up for markup. The Digital Chamber pointed out that more than 270 days have passed since the House already passed the CLARITY Act with bipartisan support. Taylor Barr (테일러 바), the Digital Chamber’s head of government affairs, said, "We can’t wait any longer," adding that "more than 70,000,000 Americans who have embraced digital assets deserve the regulatory clarity they have long waited for."

Some within the industry are also saying it is more important to move the bill forward first rather than insist on perfect conditions. Still, at the Senate stage, differences remain over what points of contact the stablecoin reward structure would create with the traditional financial system. Attention is therefore focused on whether the Senate Banking Committee will actually set a review schedule in May and whether a compromise can be reached over the stablecoin interest provision.

News: Sen. Tillis (R-NC) told Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) the panel should not plan to advance a major crypto bill in April. Negotiators need more time to finalize a bank-crypto compromise on stablecoin yield, Tillis said, pointing to a potential May markup pic.twitter.com/PIaAjPCb24