Crypto: CLARITY law approaches Senate, Coinbase announces imminent compromise

American crypto is approaching a key moment. According to Coinbase, a compromise on the CLARITY law is now close in the American Senate, but the text still has neither a date for passage in committee nor a guarantee of a final vote.

An agreement moving forward, but not yet a victory

Coinbase believes that the Senate is finally getting closer to common ground on the CLARITY Act, the major text supposed to set the rules for the crypto market in the United States. On Fox Business, Paul Grewal explained that negotiations were “very close” to an agreement, while acknowledging that no markup date had yet been set.

This renewed optimism does not come out of nowhere. The House of Representatives already adopted the CLARITY Act on July 17, 2025. In the Senate, a review session was to take place on January 15, 2026, before being postponed until the day before the meeting. Since then, the text has progressed in fits and starts, to the rhythm of technical compromises and political power struggles.

In other words, crypto is not yet at a finish line. She is in front of a half-open door. It’s already better than in February or early March, when the discussions seemed frankly stalled, but that’s not yet enough to speak of a certain outcome.

Stablecoin yield remains sticking point

The central blockage is always about the same subject. The performance of stablecoins. Banks want to prevent crypto platforms from transforming these dollar-backed tokens into quasi-savings products. Their fear is clear: to see part of the deposits leave traditional bank accounts to find more profitable solutions.

Coinbase rejects this reading. Paul Grewal says there is, in his opinion, no serious evidence of a deposit leak caused by these rewards. This opposition sums up the current debate well: on one side, Washington seeks to regulate crypto innovation. On the other hand, the old banking system refuses to allow too direct competition to take hold in terms of performance.

The compromise that has been circulating since the end of March draws a middle line. It would prohibit passive yield on stablecoin balances held on platforms, while leaving the door open to certain rewards linked to usage or activity. This is not a technical detail. This is the heart of the standoff. It is also what determines whether the text can finally start again.

Why this text matters for all crypto

The CLARITY Act is not just about stablecoins. Its ambition is broader: to clarify who regulates what in the crypto universe, particularly between the SEC and the CFTC, and to provide a more readable framework for platforms, issuers and certain digital assets. For the sector, this would be the end of a gray area that has become too costly.

This is also why the debate goes beyond Coinbase. Defenders of the sector, like Coin Center, believe that a new failure would expose American crypto to permanent political reversals. Their argument is brutal but coherent: without clear text, the market will still depend on current priorities, agency interpretations and the moods of the next administration.

The paradox is that this political progress does not guarantee an immediate boom in the crypto market. At the time of writing, BTC fell by around 3.3% over the session and ether by around 4.7%, a sign that investors remain cautious even when the regulatory file seems to be resolved. The CLARITY law can improve the background decor. It does not, by itself, eliminate market nervousness.

Lydia M.

Teacher and IT engineer, Lydie discovers Bitcoin in 2022 and dives into the world of cryptocurrencies. She popularizes complex subjects, deciphers the challenges of Web3 and defends a vision of an open, inclusive and decentralized digital future.

DISCLAIMER

The comments and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone, and should not be considered investment advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.