Key Democrat Says Banks May Have to Compromise as Senate Eyes Crypto Bill’s Markup

Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who is a member of the Banking Committee, has said that banks will likely have to make some compromises on the CLARITY Act. This comes as the Senate Banking Committee eyes a markup for the crypto market bill by the end of March.

Senator Alsobrooks Signals Banks Should Compromise On CLARITY Act

In an X post, crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett revealed that Senator Alsobrooks had said during a Washington Summit today that banks may have to compromise on the CLARITY Act. The Democratic senator said this in a room of community banks, signaling to them that efforts to get the ‘perfect bill’ cannot halt the progress they are making to get the bill across the finish line.

As CoinGape reported, banks rejected the White House deal, which limits stablecoin rewards to certain transactions and excludes payment of rewards on balances. Trump had last week urged the banks to make a deal quickly with the crypto industry while accusing them of deliberately holding up the crypto market bill.

The banks have suggested that the current draft text of the CLARITY Act isn’t sufficient to help prevent deposit risk. However, Senator Alsobrooks signaled that these banks just have to compromise, especially seeing as crypto firms have compromised by agreeing not to pay rewards on balances.

“I think I have to level set that all of us will probably walk away just a little bit unhappy,” she said. It is worth noting that the Alsobrooks and Senator Thom Tillis were among those who made amendments to the crypto bill to limit the scope of stablecoin rewards.

The senator said that the compromise that he and Tillis have been working on is one that they believe will prevent deposit flight and allow innovation to grow at the same time. Her remarks are also significant, as they suggest she may support the latest draft text, which could help advance the bill when the markup happens. However, other issues, such as ethics and conflicts of interest, may still be sticking points for her and other Democrats.

Tillis Yet To Make Decision On Current Draft

According to a Crypto In America report, Senator Tillis has yet to decide on the current draft of the CLARITY Act. The senator met with industry and White House officials several times last week and reviewed the legislative text the White House proposed after weeks of brokering negotiations between the crypto industry and banks.

Industry sources told Crypto In America that talks are moving in the right direction, but not quite there yet. As CoinGape reported, the crypto market bill’s markup could be held by the end of March, depending on how talks with Tillis go, as his vote is key to passing the bill, at least along party lines.

Tillis reportedly wants to hold a meeting with representatives from Coinbase and banking trading groups to make their case before he decides. However, it is still uncertain whether and when the meeting will happen.

Crypto traders are still predicting that the crypto bill will pass this year, with Polymarket data showing a 69% chance that Trump will sign it into law. Solana Policy Institute President Kristin Smith predicted that the CLARITY Act is likely to pass by July.

A crypto trade executive told Crypto In America that they remain cautiously optimistic that progress over the next three weeks on yield and other issues will allow the Banking Committee to reschedule the markup. However, the trade groups are also considering alternatives if the markup slips further into the year.