With the Senate Banking Committee negotiating digital asset market structure legislation ahead of a markup set for this week, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey called on community bankers to reach out to their lawmakers on a key provision.
ICBA Message: In a message to community bankers last week, Romero Rainey said now is the time to urge lawmakers to ensure the legislation bars all digital assets market participants from offering yield, interest, or rewards on payment stablecoins.
Ongoing Advocacy: “ICBA has tirelessly advocated this issue before Congress, successfully ensuring the GENIUS Act prohibited payment stablecoin issuers from paying yield or interest directly to stablecoin holders,” Romero Rainey said. “Extending this prohibition to crypto exchanges, affiliates, and intermediaries—as ICBA and its state partners have long advocated—is essential.”
Analysis: ICBA last month released an analysis that says allowing crypto third parties to continue paying yield or interest on payment stablecoin holdings would reduce community bank lending by $850 billion due to a $1.3 trillion reduction in the industry’s deposits—underscoring the urgency of grassroots advocacy.
Contacting Congress: Community bankers can use a customizable message on ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to tell their lawmakers to minimize risks to the banking system and local economies by extending the prohibition to crypto exchanges and other third parties.