Nevertheless, it emphasized, “this statement was made shortly before Trump mentioned on social media that financial institutions ‘must strike a beneficial agreement with the Crypto Industry’ to progress digital asset legislation that has encountered delays in Congress.”
The White House and Coinbase have yet to respond to a comment request from CoinDesk.
The market structure legislation has been delayed since the Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to discuss and vote on it. The primary concern hindering the crypto bill’s passage stems from banks’ arguments that stablecoin interest rates could impact bank deposits, and, by extension, their ability to lend. Crypto exchanges contend that individuals should have the right to earn returns on their stablecoin holdings, which they argue is permitted under the GENIUS Act.
On Tuesday, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon asserted that entities issuing stablecoins with interest on customer accounts should be subjected to bank regulations. Patrick Witt, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, countered Dimon’s argument, stating “the misinformation here is that the act of providing yield on a balance itself doesn’t require bank-like oversight; it’s the practice of lending out or rehypothecating the dollar amount backing that balance that does.” Witt also clarified that the GENIUS Act “clearly prohibits stablecoin issuers from engaging in the latter. Stablecoins ≠ Deposits.”