More than 100 amendments filed targeting stablecoins, ethics and DeFi ahead of Senate Banking Committee Clarity Act vote

Over 100 amendments were filed by lawmakers ahead of an anticipated hearing on Thursday to vote on sweeping digital asset legislation.

Those amendments include changes to bolster sanctions authorities, ban central bank digital currencies, and change stablecoin reward language, among other adjustments, according to a list of amendments obtained by The Block.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, filed almost 20 amendments, including one to change language that had been negotiated on the treatment of stablecoin rewards. That issue in particular had become a major sticking point in getting a bill advanced out of the Senate. Following negotiations among lawmakers, the White House, the bank and crypto sectors, Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., introduced a bill that would block certain firms from paying any form of interest on simply holding stablecoins in an effort to address banking industry concerns about potential deposit flight.

The latest version of the bill, released Monday night by the Senate Banking Committee, included that language. That committee is slated to hold a markup on Thursday to amend and vote on the broad crypto market structure bill, dubbed Clarity, which would comprehensively regulate the industry at the federal level for the first time. Amendments are rarely approved during markups.

On stablecoin rewards, Sen. Reed asked for the language around rewards being "economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit," to instead be "substantially similar to the manner in which banking organizations pay interest or yield." Reed's amendment follows banks' arguments in negotiations that they do not want rewards to resemble a bank deposit.

Other Democrats filed amendments, including one from Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., to reinstate the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. The Department of Justice created that team in 2021, and it worked on major cases, including crypto mixer Tornado Cash and the $100 million Mango Markets exploit, but it was disbanded in 2025.

Some Republican senators also requested changes. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., filed an amendment to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The central bank has said it would not issue a CBDC without the explicit go-ahead from Congress, but blocking a CBDC has become a priority for some Republicans.

A CBDC ban is not currently included in the House's version of a crypto market structure bill. The issue caused the bill to get stuck, as some Republicans, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, pushed for anti-CBDC language to be included.

There were also some housing amendments filed as lawmakers are working to pass into law the Housing for the 21st Century Act. One amendment seeks to create a memorandum of understanding between agencies to "share relevant housing-related research."

Meanwhile, there were some amendments filed centered around decentralized finance. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., filed a new section titled "Responsible Innovation in Decentralized Finance," which in part seeks to direct the Treasury Department to write rules to "clarify how a person, or group of persons under common control or acting pursuant to an agreement to act in concert, that controls the operation of a non- decentralized finance trading" should comply with securities law.

Sen. Reed also filed an amendment to take out the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which would clarify that non-custodial developers are not money transmitters, and is a major goal for DeFi advocates.

Top Senate Banking Committee Democrat Elizabeth Warren filed dozens of amendments, including one blocking the Federal Reserve from issuing master accounts to certain uninsured depository institutions that engage in digital assets.

A crypto industry source said the amendments broadly showed "a fundamental misunderstanding of the technology and a desire to expand existing regulations to this novel technology."

"It’s unfortunate, you’d hope elected officials would take the time to learn about these technologies and build US rules that allow the technology to be built here vs overseas," the source said.

Ethics

Post stablecoin reward compromise, ethics has become a major area of focus for lawmakers amid concerns of President Donald Trump and his family's crypto ventures. Bloomberg estimated in January that Trump and his family had amassed at least $1.4 billion from crypto-related projects since the inauguration, including projects tied to World Liberty Financial.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., filed an amendment to prevent the president, vice president, and other federal officials and their families from owning or promoting digital assets.

Last week at the Consensus Miami conference, one of the crypto bill's most prominent voices, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said that there would be no support for the bill without an ethics provision.

On Tuesday, Sen. Warren wrote on X that the latest version of the bill would "turbocharge the massive conflict of interests posed by Donald Trump and his family's crypto ventures," adding that: "No bill should move through the Banking Committee without real ethics guardrails."

Previously, Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee had proposed amendments that would bar the president, vice president, lawmakers, and other federal officials from engaging in certain crypto-related financial transactions. However, those provisions were ultimately excluded from the bill voted out of the committee in January.

On Tuesday, senators met in a closed-door meeting to negotiate ethics language to potentially reach a deal ahead of Thursday's markup, according to reporting from Politico.

One of the bill's key negotiators, particularly when it comes to ethics, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told reporters on Tuesday that lawmakers are making progress, adding that Trump himself would need to sign off.

"Even though he supports the Clarity Act that we're working on in concept, if the bill ends up being used as a cudgel against him, specifically, he'll veto it in a heartbeat," Lummis said.

Support for the bill 

Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, said his team is reviewing the latest text.

"[It’s] clear that this is a strong compromise and a result of hard work from all parties involved," said Shirzad. "Markups are rarely this exciting, but we can't wait for the bill to move forward this week."

"The Senate's version of the Clarity Act delivers certainty, safeguards, and accountability, while protecting Main Street, strengthening national security, and keeping innovation in America," said Senator Tim Scott, chairman of the Banking Committee.

On Tuesday, the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association said they strongly supported the bill in a letter sent to the Banking Committee.

"The Senate Banking Committee’s markup is a defining moment for American leadership in digital asset markets," said Summer Mersinger, CEO of Blockchain Association, in a statement. "The release of updated Clarity Act text reflects months of serious bipartisan work, and we urge Committee members to advance this legislation and keep the next generation of financial innovation building here at home."

Banks, meanwhile, have pushed back against the bill's stablecoin reward language. On Sunday night, American Bankers Association CEO Rob Nichols sent a letter to bank executives urging them to contact their senators and saying the industry faces an "urgent advocacy fight that requires your immediate engagement."

Next, the Senate Banking Committee will vote on the bill on Thursday; it will have to be reconciled with the Senate Agriculture Committee's version before being decided on in the House. Once there is a final version, it will be sent to Trump's desk for his signature.