Significant Restrictions Expected on Stablecoin Yields, with Focus Also on Altcoin Regulation in the US Senate's Cryptocurrency Market Structure Bill

On January 13, Tim Scott, the chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, unveiled a comprehensive 278-page draft bill on digital asset regulation. The bill proposes a division of supervisory responsibilities over digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). One of the most contentious issues is the conflict between the banking industry and the cryptocurrency sector over stablecoin yields. The banking groups have criticized the Genius Act on stablecoin regulation passed last summer, which prohibits issuers from paying interest directly to holders, although it does not forbid third-party platforms like Coinbase from offering rewards...