ABA CEO Rob Nichols says the banking lobby wants the Clarity Act to pass but needs small edits on stablecoin yield and local lending. Coinbase pulled support in January over the same issue.
The Clarity Act has stalled partly because of the banking lobby. The American Bankers Association CEO, Rob Nichols, told CNBC's Squawk Box on Wednesday that the industry wants the bill to pass but needs "tiny surgical edits" on stablecoins and local lending.
"The bill is about 600 pages and there's only two paragraphs where we're suggesting tiny surgical edits," Nichols said. "I do think that the crypto and the banking sectors can coexist. I think we can be the crypto capital of the world and I think we can be the banking capital of the world."
The bill passed the House last year but hit deadlock after banking chiefs raised concerns about stablecoin yield. Coinbase, America's largest crypto exchange, pulled support in January after clashing with bankers who said earning yield on stablecoins should be banned. U.S. banks argued they could lose deposit customers if exchanges offered more attractive products.
Coinbase's Chief Policy Officer, Faryar Shirzad, dismissed those concerns this week, pointing out that top lenders are already adopting blockchain technology. JPMorgan and Bank of America have debuted or expressed interest in stablecoin products.
A new draft circulating last week bans officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto, addressing a prior opposition objection. GOP lawmakers are pressing Democrats to pass the bill before August recess. Senator Elizabeth Warren has criticized the draft, claiming it would let President Donald Trump profit from crypto and benefit criminals.
Major institutions including Fidelity and Goldman Sachs, along with crypto lobby groups and politicians, say the revised bill works in its current form. The Senate's timeline remains the key variable, with bipartisan support in place but a narrow window before recess.
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