WH Crypto Official: Talks Over Digital Asset Bill Progressing

Discussions around a landmark bill to regulate cryptocurrencies are in a "good place" following a monthslong clash between major U.S. banks and crypto firms over the legislation, the top White House crypto official said on Monday in remarks at an event held by the Solana Policy Institute.

Details include the following:

– Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, said the contentious issues in the crypto market structure legislation dubbed the Clarity Act have been whittled down over the past several months.

– Witt did not specify any details of a compromise.

– The Clarity Act aims to create federal rules for digital assets, the culmination of years of crypto industry lobbying.

– The legislation has been held up by a bitter fight between banks and crypto over how the bill treats interest and other rewards paid on stablecoins, with banks pushing for language in the bill prohibiting the practice.

– Crypto companies say providing rewards such as interest is crucial for recruiting new customers and that barring them from doing so would be anticompetitive.

– The deadlock has fed doubts about whether the bill will make it into law this year.

– "The work that [the Trump administration] is doing can be undone" without legislation enshrining pro-crypto policies into law, Witt said.