White House accuses major banks of refusing to attend stablecoin talks as CLARITY Act markup looms!

Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Presidential Advisory Committee on Digital Assets, publicly accused American Bankers Association President Rob Nichols and other bank trade CEOs of refusing to attend February meetings aimed at resolving the stablecoin rewards dispute — a flashpoint now threatening to derail the CLARITY Act ahead of the Senate Banking Committee's May 14 markup. "I specifically requested the attendance of Mr. Nichols and other bank trade CEOs at the meetings we hosted back in February to resolve the stablecoin rewards/yield issue. They refused," Witt wrote on X.

The ABA has been urging bank executives to pressure senators for tighter restrictions, warning that the current bill leaves a loophole allowing crypto-affiliated platforms to offer deposit-like returns through rewards or rebates. Banks argue that stablecoin yield products could drain low-cost…