Hawley Votes No on Clarity Act, Raises Concerns Over Stablecoin Rewards

Senator Josh Hawley is breaking ranks with his party to vote against the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, citing concerns over community banks losing deposits due to stablecoin-driven reward programs.

Hawley argues that any type of reward structure could function as de facto deposit interest in practice, leading to a flight of deposits away from small-town banks. This concern is shared by community banking groups like the Independent Community Bankers of America, which have been sounding the alarm for months.

The bill's language tries to address this issue by prohibiting passive, deposit-like interest on stablecoins while allowing activity-based or transaction-based rewards. However, Hawley and community banking advocates are not convinced that this distinction is meaningful in practice.

This isn't the first time Hawley has opposed crypto legislation; he previously voted against the GENIUS Act. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is also expected to vote against the CLARITY Act due to his libertarian instincts, which tend to push back against regulatory frameworks.