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A life-and-death struggle over U.S. digital asset dominance and the lifeblood of traditional finance is being fiercely played out inside the U.S. Senate chamber. After months of standoff, the “Digital Asset Market Clarity Act” (CLARITY Act) is finally teetering on the edge of the pivotal May 11 review. On one side are the crypto industry and bipartisan advocates urging a final sprint, while on the other side stands a wall of copper and iron built by the banking industry alliance. The central flashpoint—the “member reward clause”—has ignited this smoke-free financial war.
At the heart of this fight is the defense of $6.6 trillion in deposits. The “member reward” clause in the bill may look unremarkable, but in reality it is a blade aimed at traditional banks. Crypto platforms plan to offer annualized rewards of 3%-5% to stablecoin holders, while mainstream U.S. bank savings rates are only 0.1%-0.5%. The huge gap is enough to drive depositors to “vote with their feet.” The American Bankers Association and five major industry organizations have banded together to block it, warning that this move would trigger an epic bank-deposit flight—potentially causing losses of $500 billion by 2028 and, in extreme cases, as much as $6.6 trillion—directly cutting bank lending capacity in half, shrinking the credit system, and putting community banks at risk of a crisis in which loans could drop by $850 billion. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has even said bluntly that paying interest on stablecoins is essentially opening a bank, which must be subject to strict regulation, and that crypto platforms must not be allowed to become “shadow banks.”
Facing desperate resistance from the banking industry, supporters of the bill have sounded the August countdown alarm. They are calling for success before August, insisting that if the bill is not cleared by then, the U.S. will permanently lose its leadership in digital assets. A trillion-dollar Web3 industry, top technical talent, and massive capital would accelerate toward regulatory-friendly jurisdictions such as Singapore and Abu Dhabi. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent has repeatedly warned that the U.S. cannot miss the golden window to establish a “global crypto hub,” and that with midterm elections approaching, the space for bipartisan cooperation will be completely shut. Market forecasts show that the probability of the bill being enacted this year has already surpassed 60%, and the market is holding its breath for the final result.
Today, the only hope for the bill to break through rests on the resilience of bipartisan cooperation. In fact, this bill is not without foundation. In July 2025, it passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelming advantage—294 votes in favor and 134 against—showing a strong base of bipartisan consensus. In the Senate, Republicans Tillis and Democrats Alsobrooks led efforts to reach a key compromise—banning passive rewards and allowing active rewards. This both plugs the loophole of “interest-like deposit” concerns raised by banks and preserves the core business model of the crypto industry. In early May, Coinbase—which had previously strongly opposed it—reversed its position and publicly stated support for the bill, clearing an important obstacle for the combined push by both parties.
But the road to a breakthrough remains thorny. The banking industry’s lobbying power is deeply entrenched, and some lawmakers still worry about financial stability risks. The bill also needs 60 votes in the Senate, and the next step is to coordinate the versions passed by both chambers; any misstep in any link could spell failure. Still, driven by the triple push of national interests, industry development, and bipartisan consensus, the odds of the CLARITY Act breaking through are steadily rising. The pivotal review on May 11 may become a watershed moment for U.S. digital asset regulation, and it will also determine the future direction of the global crypto landscape.