Banking lobby makes last-minute push to strip stablecoin yield features ahead of Senate markup!

American Bankers Association CEO Rob Nichols sent a letter to bank CEOs arguing that the Senate's sweeping crypto legislation falls short on one key point: it doesn't do enough to prevent crypto companies from offering "interest-like rewards" on stablecoins. The push lands just before the Senate Banking Committee's Thursday markup hearing — the first serious attempt to establish a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for the crypto industry.

The ABA's concern is structural. If stablecoin issuers can offer yield-like features, they compete directly with bank deposits without being subject to the same regulatory constraints. Nichols is asking lawmakers to tighten those limits before the bill advances out of committee.

The outcome of Thursday's markup will set the baseline text that moves to the full Senate floor — making this last-hour lobbying push a meaningful pressure point on…