Nikolas Sargeant
Coinbase is reportedly opposing the latest compromise proposal in the Senate's crypto market structure bill, specifically over provisions targeting stablecoin yield payments, the same issue that derailed the legislation earlier this year.
According to Punchbowl News, Coinbase representatives met with Senate lawmakers on Monday and raised concerns about the yield language in the updated bill. The circulating proposal would have barred third parties such as exchanges from paying stablecoin yields to customers, a concession aimed at satisfying banking groups worried about deposit flight. Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The pushback carries real weight. Coinbase is among the most influential crypto lobbyists in Washington, and its withdrawal of support for an earlier version of the bill in January came just before the Senate Banking Committee indefinitely postponed its markup. Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks are leading the current compromise effort, with talks described as ongoing.
The stablecoin yield dispute has been the central fault line throughout the bill's progress. Banking groups argue that exchange-paid yields represent a loophole around the GENIUS Act, which already bans stablecoin issuers from paying yields directly, and could accelerate deposit flight from traditional banks. Crypto lobbyists have pushed back, calling the risk overstated and framing the banks' position as anticompetitive. The White House has hosted at least three meetings between the two sides without a resolution materializing.
Republican lawmakers are pressing for passage ahead of the midterms, aware that a shifted Congress could kill momentum entirely. Senator Cynthia Lummis posted Wednesday that bipartisan compromise is necessary and that the window for action cannot be wasted.
