US Senators Draw a New Plan for Stablecoins #

U.S. senators wrote up a draft market structure that prohibits yields for simply holding stablecoin balances but allows activity-linked incentives.

Drafted by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, the draft is described as a “negotiated market structure bill.” The new bill essentially states that digital asset service providers would be prohibited from paying any form of interest or yield for users merely holding payment stablecoins. However, it allows exceptions for activity-based rewards or incentives linked to actions such as making transactions, staking, providing liquidity, or posting collateral.

Banking groups argue that the GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, introduced new liquidity risks by leaving loopholes that allow issuers or platforms to offer interest-like returns. The stablecoin law bars issuers from paying direct interest, but does not restrict third-party platforms such as Coinbase from providing rewards to users.

On the other hand, crypto firms contend the issue was already settled during the GENIUS Act negotiations and accuse banks of trying to curb competition.