‘More to come,’ crypto leaders say after third White House stablecoin meeting

The White House hosted a third closed-door meeting on Thursday between crypto advocates and banking groups as negotiations over stablecoin yield continue to shape the fate of a broader crypto market structure bill.

Crypto Council for Innovation Ji Hun Kim called the hours-long meeting on Thursday, which started at 9 a.m. ET, "constructive."

"The conversation built upon previous meetings to establish a framework that serves American consumers while reinforcing U.S. competitiveness," he said. "More to come to build upon today’s progress,” he added. 

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal struck a similar tone in a post on X, writing that “the dialogue was constructive and the tone cooperative” and adding: “More to come.”

Thursday’s meeting marks the third closed-door session convened by the White House between crypto advocates and banking groups as lawmakers wrestle with how to treat rewards on stablecoin holdings — one of the final sticking points in broader crypto legislation.

One source familiar with the meetings told the Block that the White House appeared intent on keeping participants there “until a deal is made.” The same source later said no compromise was reached.

A separate source familiar said that the White House proposed principles during the meeting whereby companies, including Coinbase, can offer or pay rewards for activities, including balances. Those were discussed during the meeting, the source familiar said. 

It is unclear when there will be another meeting, but the source said it is up to the banks now. 

"I expect conversation will continue," the source said. 

Attendees include Ripple, the Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation and major bank trade associations.

The yield issue

Banks have argued that allowing yields would drain deposits from traditional institutions and hurt community banks, while crypto firms have said restricting such yields would stifle innovation.

The issue was addressed in a stablecoin law known as GENIUS, which passed over the summer and bars stablecoin issuers from paying direct interest to stablecoin holders. The law does not prohibit third-party platforms such as Coinbase from offering rewards.

Coinbase has become central to the debate. The exchange pulled its support ahead of a hearing to vote on legislation in the Senate Banking Committee, citing stablecoin yields as one of its concerns.

Lawmakers have been working to pass broad legislation that would divvy up jurisdiction over crypto between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission and set forth new regulatory standards. 

An amendment made to the Senate Banking Committee's draft would allow crypto exchanges to offer yield on stablecoins if the customer takes certain actions, like selling their stablecoins. However, yield cannot be earned if the stablecoin is just sitting in the customer's account.

During last week's White House meeting, banks laid out a set of "prohibition principles" on yield and interest, calling for a broad ban on any financial or non-financial benefits tied to holding, owning, or using payment stablecoins, with strict enforcement, anti-evasion measures, and tight restrictions on marketing or representations that could imply yields resemble deposits or insured interest.

Crypto stakeholders strongly opposed those principles. The Digital Chamber later released its own framework, aligning more closely with the Senate Banking Committee’s draft and retaining a provision calling for a study two years after enactment to assess the impact on bank deposits.

What does this mean for the bill's chances?

Eyes are on the Senate Banking Committee to see what their next crypto bill draft will look like and when the next hearing will be to vote on the legislation.

The Senate Agriculture Committee voted its version of a bill, though it did not receive Democratic support, with many voicing concern about a separate ongoing issue — President Donald Trump's conflicts of interest since he and his family have been involved in multiple crypto ventures. 

On Thursday morning, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told Fox Business why he gave an 80% chance of a bill passing by the end of April, citing the White House meeting. "The White House is pushing hard on this, and I think that is a big reason why it will get done," Garlinghouse said. 

The chances of a bill passing have gone through a rollercoaster ride on predictions market Polymarket, ranging from as low as as 54% to 85% over the past few days. As of Thursday morning, the contract had settled to 72%. 

Last week, sources who spoke with The Block estimated the chances of a crypto market structure bill passing into law at between 25% and 60%. Sources also cited Trump's conflicts of interest and stablecoin yield as the two main roadblocks. 

Updated at 9:20 p.m. UTC to include more details 

Corrected at 11:20 p.m. UTC to amend Garlinghouse's chances for a crypto bill passing into law