ABA survey finds consumers support stablecoin yield limits tied to banking risk

A new American Bankers Association survey found that a large minority of respondents will agree with theoretical restrictions on stablecoin yield if the question raises the spectre of resulting financial risk. 

On Tuesday, the largest and oldest U.S. banking industry trade association published the results of a recent survey meant to gauge consumer views of stablecoins and fintech innovation, as well as their regulatory preferences. 

By a purported 3-to-1 margin, consumers are said to agree with congressional prohibitions on stablecoin rewards “if there is any risk it could reduce the amount of funds available to banks to lend in the community and support economic growth.”

Moreover, consumers agree by a 6-to-1 margin that stablecoin laws “should be cautious and not take any steps that could undermine our existing financial system,” particularly “community banks that help drive local economic activity.”

The ABA’s survey, conducted by Morning Consult, comes as U.S. lawmakers are hamstrung in their efforts to pass broad crypto market structure legislation due to, in part, banking industry lobbying against stablecoin yield. 

Banks, including giants like JPMorgan and down to local credit unions, have argued that stablecoin issuers offering rewards to holders could undermine the U.S. banking and local lending systems by drawing deposits away from lower-yielding bank accounts. 

“Our industry welcomes competition and innovation, and many banks are eager to offer products and services in the digital asset marketplace.” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said at the ABA’s 2026 Washington Summit on Tuesday. “What we don’t support is an uneven playing field where new entrants want to offer banklike products without having to comply with banklike rules, or even worse, push for a regulatory framework that puts consumers, the financial system, and the economy at risk.” 

The 'level playing field'

Nichols’ comments echo similar remarks from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who said crypto firms should follow the same capital, liquidity, transparency, and reporting requirements on “a level playing field” as banks if they’re going to pay interest on stablecoin holdings. 

Crypto market advocates, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, have argued that stablecoin issuers follow stricter reserve requirements than banks as mandated by the GENIUS Act, which requires all issued stablecoins to be fully backed by cash or cash equivalents. 

Even President Donald Trump has weighed in on the issue, having last week referred to the matter of stablecoin yield as an issue of consumer choice, while attempting to bring banks to the table. 

Indeed, many banks are beginning to experiment with stablecoins or similar products. JPMorgan, for instance, is developing tokens backed by actual bank deposits, while the largest credit union infrastructure provider, TruStage, is developing a stablecoin.

This is happening as crypto native firms are receiving conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to operate as federally chartered banks, which would allow them to custody stablecoins and fiat reserve assets.

The OCC also recently outlined how it might supervise stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.

Broader stablecoin yield issue

While the ABA’s survey reportedly found that 84% of respondents agree that “a business providing bank-like services” should follow bank-like rules, 43% said they “don’t know” whether Congress should prevent stablecoin issuers from paying yield. 

Longtime crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky, who recently co-founded the Hyperliquid Policy Center, said the split between banking and the crypto industries likely won’t stop at stablecoin yield and could eventually threaten other blockchain-based services, like peer-to-peer lending. 

“Don't make the mistake of thinking the banks only care about stablecoin yield,” Chervinsky said in response to an ABA conference clip. “The quiet part out loud: ‘Holding payment stablecoin, creating liquidity in that DeFi world, that's part of the crypto roadmap, but that's not okay.’ Stop them now, or they're coming for DeFi next.”

Though for many consumers, the debate may seem quite abstract, given the reportedly low levels of actual stablecoin adoption. According to the ABA survey, 80% of respondents said they have never owned a stablecoin, while 48% said they are “very unlikely” to buy, hold or use stablecoins in the next 12 months.