Several leading cryptocurrency companies and trade groups urged lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday to reject efforts to add new limits on stablecoin rewards in upcoming legislation.
In a letter led by the Blockchain Association, more than 125 crypto industry players argued against a push to "reinterpret and expand" an existing prohibition on stablecoin interest in the GENIUS Act.
Among the signatories are the Bitcoin Policy Institute, Crypto Council for Innovation, DeFi Education Fund, Solana Policy Institute, the Digital Chamber, a16z Crypto, Coinbase, Gemini, Kraken and Ripple.
The GENIUS Act, which President Trump signed in July, seeks to create a regulatory framework for dollar-backed digital tokens known as stablecoins. The measure included a provision barring stablecoin issuers from offering "any form of interest or yield."
However, the provision has sparked a battle between the crypto and banking industries in recent months amid a dispute over just how far this interest prohibition extends and whether any additional changes should be made.
"The idea that we reopen [the issue] before we even start rulemaking just doesn't make any sense," Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger told The Hill. "And it really calls into question the certainty that surrounds legislation."
"When Congress passes a bill, and it gets signed into law, if you can reopen it right away, you've got a question about how much certainty is that really bringing to the market," she continued.
The banking industry has argued that the interest prohibition should extend to other entities that can offer rewards to stablecoin holders, slamming this approach as a "loophole" and arguing it conflicts with lawmakers' intent behind the provision.
They have pushed for Congress to include changes to the GENIUS provision in crypto market structure legislation that is currently being negotiated in the Senate, namely in the Senate Banking and Agriculture committees.
Members of the crypto industry argue that the stablecoin law "reflects a deliberate and calibrated balance" and protects the ability of stablecoins to effectively compete in the market for payments services.
Check out the full report at TheHill.com.
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