The post A settled stablecoin issue is back on the table as Senate prepares vote appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee is set to mark up its long-awaited market structure legislation next week.  This will reopen debate over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer rewards — an issue Congress had previously addressed under the GENIUS Act. The renewed focus on stablecoin rewards has surfaced late in the legislative process. It has introduced uncertainty around a policy area that industry participants believed had already been resolved.  The outcome of the markup could shape how stablecoins compete in payments and onchain commerce as lawmakers finalise the framework governing digital assets. Stablecoin returns to the agenda Under the GENIUS Act, Congress established guardrails for stablecoins without prohibiting rewards. This structure was intended to balance consumer protection with innovation in digital payments.  Revisiting the issue as part of the broader market structure bill risks reopening compromises that were reached earlier in the legislative cycle. The Senate Banking Committee’s markup next week will determine whether provisions restricting rewards are added, removed, or clarified before the bill advances.  Lawmakers have not yet signalled a consensus, raising the prospect of late-stage amendments. Payments economics at the centre of the debate Supporters of stablecoin rewards argue that the issue is less about financial stability and more about competition in payments.  In a post, Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, warned that reopening the rewards debate could undermine consumer choice as commerce increasingly moves onchain. Shirzad argued that stablecoins primarily compete with card networks and other payment rails rather than with bank lending.  He pointed to data showing that U.S. banks generate significant revenue from payment-related activities, including card fees and interest on reserves, and framed opposition to rewards as rooted in protecting those revenue streams. Evidence cited on deposits and lending The argument that stablecoin rewards could drain deposits from community…

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Filed under: News - @ January 8, 2026 1:21 am