Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Stablecoin Rewards Keep Pressure On US Crypto Bill
Apr 9, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Regulation And Policy, Payments And Money Movement
Stablecoin Rewards Put Pressure on Bank Deposits
On April 9, 2026, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urges Congress to pass the Clarity Act, arguing the US keeps losing digital asset activity to markets with clearer rules. That verbal push is intended to dislodge the bill which remains stuck on one of the hardest questions in digital finance: whether stablecoin rewards should compete with bank deposits, or not.
The policy fight is no longer just about jurisdiction between regulators or basic market structure. It is now about who gets to hold customer cash, who gets to earn on it, and who controls the interface between payments, savings, and programmable money. Banks want tighter limits because stablecoin rewards create a new form of deposit competition. Crypto firms want room to compete on product design and customer economics.
The White House added fresh evidence shared on April 8. In new research on stablecoin yield prohibition and bank lending, banning stablecoin rewards would increase bank lending by about $2.1 billion, or 0.02%, while costing about $800 million overall. Most of the benefit would go to large banks, which would capture about 76% of the added lending, with community banks taking the rest. The gains are small. The cost is real. That weakens the case that restricting rewards meaningfully supports the broader economy.
See: NCFA Whisperer: Weekly Fintech Intelligence
Reuters reports banks have pushed hard to close what they view as a loophole that lets intermediaries offer rewards on stablecoins, and they argue that could pull deposits out of the insured banking system. This is why the Clarity Act keeps slowing down. The fight is about whether stablecoins stay as payment instruments or evolve into a stronger cash alternative.
The pressure is building from all sides. Treasury wants a bill. The crypto industry wants rules that allow product competition. Banks want guardrails that protect deposit funding. The White House research now suggests the cost of blocking stablecoin rewards may be higher than the lending benefit banks gain from it.
Canada is already taking a different path. The current stablecoin framework restricts stablecoin rewards, limiting direct competition with bank deposits at the outset. The US is still deciding how far that competition should go. If stablecoins extend beyond payments into customer incentives, they begin to pull on deposits, stored value, and parts of the transaction account stack.
Talking Point
The issue already surfaced as a regulatory fault line around stablecoin interest and rewards. Now the intensity is heating up. Treasury is pushing in public. Banks are still resisting. The White House has started publishing economic arguments into the debate. That usually means the policy window is narrowing and the commercial stakes are getting harder to ignore.
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