Crypto Industry and Community Banks Lobby Senators Ahead of Clarity Act Vote
Key Takeaways
- •The Clarity Act would create federal rules for digital assets and split regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
- •Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed group claiming 3 million supporters, said its members called or emailed members of Congress nearly 50,000 times in August.
- •The Independent Community Bankers of America is urging lawmakers to include a robust prohibition on stablecoin yield, citing community banks' role in $4.1 trillion of total lending activity nationwide.
- •Crypto groups have spent at least $190 million ahead of the November midterm elections, and the Blockchain Association launched the Clarity for America campaign in July to rally support for the bill.
- •In Georgia, Stand With Crypto chapter president Tia Williams met with staff of Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who voted against advancing the bill from the Senate Banking Committee.
Crypto advocates and community bankers are taking their opposing campaigns over the Clarity Act to senators’ home states ahead of a key procedural vote scheduled for September 15.
The legislation would establish federal rules for digital assets and divide regulatory oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. During the Senate’s August recess, both sides targeted lawmakers through meetings, local events, opinion articles, phone calls, emails, and advertising, according to Reuters. The vote is a near-term test of whether the legislation can advance while disagreements over stablecoin rewards, banking activity, safeguards, and ethics restrictions remain unresolved.
Stand With Crypto, a Coinbase-backed advocacy group that says it has 3 million supporters, said its members called or emailed members of Congress nearly 50,000 times in August. The group also organized events and placed opinion pieces supporting the Clarity Act in local newspapers.
In Georgia, chapter president Tia Williams met with staff for Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who voted against advancing the bill from the Senate Banking Committee. Crypto groups have already spent at least $190 million ahead of the November midterm elections. The Blockchain Association launched Clarity for America in July to help individuals and companies contact senators in support of the legislation.
Community banks are mounting a separate campaign against provisions they say could draw deposits away from banks and reduce lending. The Independent Community Bankers of America has arranged meetings between local bankers and senators in their home states and has run television advertisements calling for changes to the bill.
“New ICBA polling demonstrates that small businesses understand firsthand the critical role of community banks in supporting local economies and want to ensure the Clarity Act does not harm this vital source of credit,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a statement. “ICBA continues to urge lawmakers to ensure the Clarity Act includes a robust prohibition on stablecoin yield to ensure community banks continue to power $4.1 trillion in total lending activity in local communities nationwide.” The organization published its polling statement here.
Stablecoin rewards are among the central points of disagreement. Banking groups argue that allowing crypto platforms to pay rewards on stablecoins could shift deposits away from traditional banks. Crypto firms argue that the rewards should remain available and that clearer federal rules are needed for the industry to operate in the United States.
The bill also faces opposition related to money-laundering safeguards and ethics restrictions concerning government officials’ crypto interests. Those issues, along with the dispute over stablecoin rewards, are likely to remain central to the Senate debate as lawmakers consider whether and how to move the legislation forward.
