Grewal stated publicly on May 6 that the legislation will pass this summer, backing compromise language drafted by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD). The two senators released the text on May 2. It draws a legal line between yield paid on idle stablecoin balances, which would be prohibited under language covering instruments "economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit," and rewards tied to actual platform activity, described in the bill as arising from "bona fide activities or bona fide transactions," which would be permitted. Transaction cashback and usage-linked incentives would fall into that permitted category. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's response to the compromise was blunt: "Mark it up."

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott has set an aggressive schedule. "We're in the red zone," Scott said, targeting a committee markup in May and a full Senate floor vote in June or July. The timeline matters because the Senate has roughly 12 usable working weeks before August, when political attention shifts toward midterm campaigning. Any bill not through committee and on the floor by late July faces long odds of passing this congressional session.

The CLARITY Act passed the House in July 2025 by a 294 to 134 vote but has sat idle in the Senate for nearly a year. The primary obstacle has been stablecoin yield. The earlier GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, bars stablecoin issuers from paying yield on balances but left exchanges and affiliated platforms free to offer their own reward products. Banking lobbyists spent months pushing to close that gap. Now the Tillis-Alsobrooks language attempts to do exactly that, though critics in the industry say it goes further than necessary. The Crypto Council for Innovation noted the compromise extends restrictions beyond issuers to all market participants, a scope broader than anything in the GENIUS Act. CEO Ji Hun Kim flagged those concerns but still urged lawmakers to move the bill forward, saying: "The north star is to ensure that the U.S. can lead on crypto."

Banks remain unconvinced. The American Bankers Association, along with four other trade groups, called the compromise "a significant loophole" and warned that yield-bearing stablecoins could reduce consumer, small-business, and farm lending "by one-fifth or more." The groups said they plan to submit strengthening suggestions to lawmakers. The Trump White House pushed back sharply. Trump White House Crypto Adviser Patrick Witt said: "It's hard to explain any further lobbying by banks on this issue as motivated by anything other than greed." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has separately urged Congress to finalize the legislation, reinforcing the administration's pressure on lawmakers to act. Tim Scott has said he needs all 13 Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee signed on before proceeding with a bipartisan markup, meaning any holdouts could delay the process even within his own party. Galaxy Digital put the overall odds of the bill becoming law in 2026 at roughly 50-50, and possibly lower.

Markets reacted quickly to the compromise news. Bitcoin crossed $80,000 as of May 4, up roughly 19 percent over the prior 30 days. Coinbase shares rose 7 percent and Circle shares jumped 15 percent following the announcement. The broader stablecoin market now stands at approximately $320 billion in total market capitalization. USDT holds about $187 billion of that, nearly 58 percent of the total, with supply up 36 percent year over year. USDC has grown faster in percentage terms, up 73 percent year over year to roughly $77 billion. Stablecoins now account for 75 percent of total crypto trading volume in Q1 2026.

For users outside the United States, the stakes are practical and immediate. In Nigeria, 95 percent of survey respondents said they would prefer receiving payments in stablecoins over the local naira, the highest preference recorded globally, according to a report co-commissioned by Coinbase, BVNK, and Artemis. Readers should note that Coinbase is also the primary subject of this article and has a commercial interest in stablecoin adoption. Around 80 percent of respondents in Nigeria and South Africa already hold stablecoins, with more than three-quarters planning to increase their positions. South Africa and Kenya are both significant and rapidly evolving markets in the region. Kenya signed its Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill into law in October 2025, reflecting broader regulatory momentum across sub-Saharan Africa. Across South Asia, crypto adoption rose 80 percent between January and July 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to TRM Labs. The same instruments are central to India's remittance economy, where USDT transfers over the TRC-20 network cost under one dollar and settle within minutes, compared to multi-day, multi-dollar SWIFT transfers. India received the world's highest inbound remittances in the 2024-25 period. If the CLARITY Act's "bona fide activity" carve-out holds in its current form, rewards tied to actual usage on platforms like Coinbase or Binance will likely survive. Passive yield on parked balances will not, and that distinction matters for users across high-inflation economies who hold stablecoins as a savings tool between transactions.

The EU's MiCA regulation, already in force, also prohibits yield on e-money tokens. If the US follows suit with similar restrictions, global stablecoin issuers will face pressure from both sides of the Atlantic to restructure yield products. Regulators in Mauritius are already drafting stablecoin-specific rules and may use the CLARITY Act's yield language as a reference benchmark. Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, put the competitive pressure plainly: "Every day without a clear legal framework is an invitation for top-tier talent, capital, and innovative companies to locate elsewhere." Grewal and Coinbase are betting that day is nearly over.