Banks Derail Trump's Crypto Agenda Amid Hidden Fee Fears
The Trump administration's efforts to advance the CLARITY Act, a bipartisan proposal to create market structure for cryptocurrency and digital assets in the United States, have been derailed. The bill had been a key priority of President Donald Trump, who said it 'will keep us ahead of China, keep us ahead of everyone else, will open the door to the next wave of innovations and innovators.'
The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act last week, with many attributing its failure to lock-step Democratic opposition and election season partisanship. However, several media outlets attributed the loss to a well-funded opposition campaign from the banking lobby.
A report by Reuters stated that Trump's loss was due to 'the powerful banking lobby.'
Critics have attacked the banking lobby for commissioning a push-poll that asked questions intended to elicit answers suggesting Americans are skeptical of aspects of the bill. For example, respondents were asked whether Congress should prohibit crypto companies from offering interest-like rewards for holding stablecoin due to concerns it could draw away deposits from local banks.
The White House's own Council of Economic Advisors had previously conducted research making clear that this risk was not legitimate.