🚨 URGENT ACTION NEEDED

Last year, President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, a bill to regulate payment stablecoins and protect consumers. The new law makes it clear that stablecoin issuers cannot offer interest on their digital dollars. This clear prohibition was added to protect Americans from confusing uninsured stablecoin wallets with insured bank deposits and to ensure that the law did not create incentives that would undermine bank lending to small businesses and communities. However, a loophole that allows other crypto companies to pay interest or other financial rewards on stablecoins undermines this prohibition and puts everyday consumers at risk. 

A Treasury Department report estimates that this special-interest loophole could drain deposits from community banks, limiting their ability to fund loans for households and small businesses. 

Your lawmakers have an opportunity to protect consumers and preserve local lending by closing this loophole, fostering a safe and secure marketplace. Urge your lawmakers to tighten restrictions on paying interest, yield, or rewards that function like interest on payment stablecoins to cover all market participants, thereby ensuring that payment stablecoins serve as a payment tool that supports financial innovation while minimizing unintended consequences for communities and the broader economy. 

The Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote this Thursday, May 14 – the time to act is now. Ask your Senators to close the interest loophole to protect lending in local communities.

Learn more about this issue below and online.