The road to clear regulation for stablecoins in the US has come to an abrupt halt. The Senate Banking Committee has officially postponed the "markup" (the amendment and voting session) of the CLARITY Act, originally scheduled for 15 January 2026. On the committee's official page, the session is now marked as "POSTPONED", with no rescheduling date.
Committee Chairman Tim Scott has stated that the postponement is necessary to allow "bipartisan negotiations" to continue, stressing that all parties remain at the table working in good faith.
However, behind the procedural diplomacy, there is a public clash between the crypto industry's top brass and the institutions.
The 'War of the Rewards': The Node of Deposit-like Annuities
At the centre of the legislative dispute are the 'rewards' on stablecoins. The banking industry is pressing for these rewards to be treated as bank deposits, as they offer rates (often around 3.5%) that compete directly with high-yield savings accounts.
According to documentation from Coinbase, these rewards are structured as incentives linked to participation in specific programmes (such as the 'Boosted Rewards' on USDC) and not as bank interest. For regulators, drawing the line is crucial: too narrow a definition could prohibit any form of return, striking at the heart of the business model of exchanges and stablecoin issuers.
Brian Armstrong vs. Eleanor Terrett: Sparks on Social
The climate heated up when Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett suggested on X that the White House was considering withdrawing its support for the bill unless Coinbase agreed to a compromise on returns.
The White House is said to be furious at the 'unilateral' action taken by Coinbase on Wednesday, of which it apparently had not been informed in advance, calling it a 'rug pull' (a sudden low blow or betrayal) against the White House and the rest of the industry. The source went on to say that the White House does not believe that a single company can speak for the entire industry, the reporter reported.
🚨SCOOP: The White House is considering pulling its support for the crypto market structure bill entirely if @coinbase does not come back to the table with a yield agreement that satisfies the banks and gets everyone to a deal, a source close to the Trump administration tells me....
- Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) January 17, 2026
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has come out strongly denying the reconstructions and reiterating his position: "We would rather have no law at all than bad law".
Armstrong warned that the current amendments would 'kill' stablecoin rewards, leading the exchange to withdraw its support shortly before the committee adjourned. Other industry figures, such as Erik Voorhees, have also echoed this uncompromising line.
Economic Impact and Future Scenarios
The stakes are monumental. Data from DeFiLlama indicates that the stablecoin market has reached a capitalisation of approximately $311.563 billion. Looking to the future, Citi GPS projections estimate that stablecoin issuance could reach $1.9 trillion by 2030, rising to $4 trillion in a bullish scenario.
The future of the CLARITY Act (H.R. 3633), which passed the House in July 2025 by a 294 vote, remains uncertain. There are three possible outcomes:
- A rewrite to allow for limited incentive programmes but distinct from banking products.
- A prolonged delay if no agreement on the level of regulation (stablecoin vs exchange) is found.
- The advancement of the Act with the support of other industry players, isolating Coinbase.
While traders monitor platforms such as Polymarket to bet on the legislative outcomes of 2026, the one certainty is documented: the dialogue between Washington and Crypto Valley has never been so tense.
