Join ICBA’s Main Street over Crypto Campaign
Community banks have always been the financial backbone of Main Street—helping families buy homes, entrepreneurs start businesses, farmers invest in their operations, and local communities thrive.
As policymakers consider crypto-related legislation and regulatory proposals, it’s critical that they understand what’s at stake for community banks and the customers they serve. That’s why ICBA launched the Main Street over Crypto campaign: to elevate the voice of community banks and highlight the importance of policies that protect relationship-based lending and preserve access to local financial services.
Campaign Toolkit
Community bankers are among the most trusted voices in their communities. Your relationships with customers, local leaders, and policymakers give you a unique opportunity to help shape the conversation.
Share these resources through your bank’s communication channels, community outreach efforts, and conversations with policymakers and local media.
Ways to Participate
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Share campaign content with peers, colleagues, and customers on your social media channels.
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Use the talking points and fact sheet in conversations with elected officials and community leaders.
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Educate customers and local businesses about the role community banks play in supporting local lending.
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Engage local media and community organizations with stories about your bank’s impact.
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Encourage employees, directors, and advocates to help spread the message.
Tools
Questions?
For additional campaign materials or assistance in promoting the campaign, please contact Mike DeVoll.
Highlighted Social Voices
View Crypto Advocacy
Bill Mitchell on X: 💵 BREAKING: CRYPTO LOBBYISTS ARE PUSHING THE CLARITY ACT, BUT LOOPHOLES COULD HURT COMMUNITY BANKS, SMALL BUSINESSES, AND LOCAL LENDING!
Big crypto can't win with voters, so they're buying Congress instead.
A $195 million crypto lobbying blitz is jamming the CLARITY Act through Washington. Only 27% of voters support legitimizing crypto as mainstream finance. But crypto corporations dropped 44% of all corporate money into 2024 elections anyway.
pullupspastapolitics on Instagram: 4,000 community banks are fighting a crypto bill that could pull $1.3 trillion out of local deposits. A new Guardian article breaks down what is at stake for farmers and small businesses.
Damani Felder on X: Who should have more influence over America's financial future: local community banks or crypto lobbyists? Community banks help fund small businesses, family farms, local jobs and more. Who else thinks our elected officials should protect Main Street America with sensible crypto ...
Terry Schilling 🇺🇸 on X: "🚨 Crypto vs. Community Banks: Big risk ahead. 4,000 local lenders are fighting the Clarity Act—stablecoins could drain deposits, starving farmers & small businesses of $850B in loans. We need to protect Main Street, not hand it to Big Crypto.
Chad Prather on X: Hmmmm. Some say the measure would boost innovation, strengthen the U.S. dollar, and keep America competitive in digital finance. Critics, especially community banks, warn it could pull deposits away from local banks, reducing their ability to fund small businesses, farmers, and ...
Stacie Haight Connerty on X: DID YOU KNOW that supporting community banks means helping local economies across the country? These small towns are preserving Main Street America. However, while most Americans prefer local lending, Crypto kingpins are pushing their agendas through Washington. Our local" ...
Ryan Saavedra on X: Interesting op-ed on Americans’ skepticism of crypto policy and why there is a push for Congress to hurry up and pass potentially flawed legislation.
Grant Stinchfield on X: Trump is the crypto President and the CLARITY Act is important… but… it’s filled with loopholes!!! Congress MUST fix this bill before passage! Read this… You will see why! #crypto #CLARITYact bit.ly/4bXMYOe
Jordan Schachtel on X: Pretty wild stat: Crypto corps contributed nearly half of all corporate money to the 2024 elections.
herearetheheadlines on Instagram: Is this impacting where you live? America’s community banks power local economies by serving families, small businesses and farmers through local lending and strong community ties. They provide access to credit that funds entrepreneurship, drives job creation and helps communities grow and thrive. Americans’ money is safer there, backed by decades of consumer protections and modern, innovative security.
ICBA Social Media Toolkit
Protecting Main Street Communities from Crypto Threats
The Real Enemy of Main Street
"Crypto companies don't sponsor your kid's baseball team. 🧢
They don't sit down with farmers at the kitchen table. They don't pay property taxes that fund your local schools. They don't know your name.
But they want your money.
If the Clarity Act passes, $850 BILLION in local lending could be at risk—weakening the community banks that have helped small businesses, family farms, and local economies grow for generations.
That means: 📉 345,830 small businesses lose access to credit 📉 3.38 million employees at risk of losing jobs 📉 Your community pays the price.
This is the fight that matters to 🇺🇸.”
Sounding the Alarm
“When crypto starts paying interest and yield on stablecoins—$1.3 TRILLION in local deposits heads for the exits. That exodus doesn't just hurt banks—it triggers a 21% contraction in lending, leaving 345,830 small businesses scrambling for credit.
This isn't hypothetical. Money is already flowing out of your community. 📉
4,000 community banks are sounding the alarm. Congress needs to listen.
Read more from The Guardian.”
What Community Banks Actually Do
“Crypto says it's just like banking. But...
Community banks: 💰 Hold farmer's savings & small business loans💰 Know your business plan personally 💰 Pay taxes that fund YOUR schools & roads
Crypto: 💥 Has no local presence—just offshore accounts 💥 Disappears without warning or explanation💥 Pays millions in lobbying to rig the game in their favor
One builds your community. The other destroys it.”
The Choice Congress Faces
“Congress: Time to pick a side.
🔴 Support a handful of crypto kingpins getting a free pass?
🔴 Or protect the constituents, farmers, small business owners and the 3.38 million Americans who depend on local credit?
The Clarity Act forces that choice. And rural America is watching.”
DC Ad Campaign Launch
“4,000 community banks just went on the offensive.
A new campaign is hitting DC this summer. It's not Wall Street vs. Crypto.
It's farmers, small business owners, and local communities across America vs. a handful of crypto billionaires trying to rewrite the rules.
This fight is coming to your neighborhood. 📺
Read more from The Guardian.”