White House economists say banning stablecoin yield would add little to bank lending while imposing significant costs on users. A White House report found that banning yield on stablecoins would have a marginal impact on bank lending while creating clear economic downsides. According to the Council of Economic Advisers, a three-member agency within the Executive Office of the President tasked to offer the president economic advice, moving funds from stablecoins back into bank deposits would not translate into significant new lending. Under its baseline scenario, total bank lending would increase by about $2.1 billion, roughly 0.02% of the $12 trillion loan market. The report, published Wednesday, says that community banks would see even smaller gains. Lending at these institutions would increase by roughly $500 million, or about 0.026%. Read more
The proposal includes a startup exemption, a fundraising exemption and an investment contract safe harbor for issuers. US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins has revealed that a key crypto market safe harbor proposal has landed at the White House for review. Speaking at the Digital Assets and Emerging Technology Policy Summit on Monday, Atkins said the Regulation Crypto Assets proposal — outlined by the SEC in mid-March — has now been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. "We will have reg crypto that we will be proposing here shortly. It's in fact at OIRA right now, which is the next step before being published," he said. Read more
US President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post, a White House official said on Thursday, following mounting frustration with her performance, including her handling of investigative files related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump had also reportedly grown frustrated that Bondi was not moving quickly enough to prosecute critics and adversaries whom he wanted to face criminal charges. In a social media post, Trump praised Bondi as a “Great American patriot and a loyal friend” and said she will move to a job in the private sector. Trump said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, his former personal lawyer, will lead the Justice Department in the interim. During her tenure as the top US law enforcement official, Bondi was a combative champion of Trump’s agenda and dismantled the Justice Department’s longstanding tradition of independence from the White House in its investigations. But it was repeated criticism over the Epstein files, including from Trump...
A White House review has cleared a Labor Department proposal that could widen the path for crypto-linked exposure in 401(k) retirement plans. The White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has completed its review of a Department of Labor (DOL) proposal that could reshape how 401(k) fiduciaries evaluate alternative assets, including digital-asset exposure. The OIRA’s website shows the review concluded on March 24, with the action marked “consistent with change” and the proposal classified as “economically significant.” The DOL is now expected to publish the proposed rule for a standard 60-day public comment period, which is usually followed by revisions and the issuing of a final rule. The proposal follows President Donald Trump’s Aug. 7, 2025, executive order directing federal agencies to expand access to alternative assets in 401(k) plans, including exposure to digital assets through certain investment vehicles. Read more
The financial regulator’s plan to reinterpret how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets is ”pending review” by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has forwarded its proposal to have most crypto assets not treated as securities under federal law to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. According to information available through the US General Services Administration, on Friday the SEC sent two proposed rules to the White House for review, including its interpretative notice from last week regarding which digital assets the agency could consider a security under federal law. As of Monday, government records showed the proposal as “pending review” by the White House, potentially changing how the SEC handles regulation and enforcement of digital assets. Read more
The deal reportedly focuses on stablecoin yield and interest-bearing stable tokens, a major pain point for the banking industry. Rumors are circulating that a tentative deal has been struck between the White House and US lawmakers on stablecoin yield, potentially moving the CLARITY crypto market structure bill forward. Republican Senator Thom Tillis and Democratic Senator Angela Alsobrooks, both members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, have reached an “agreement in principle,” according to a Friday Politico report. “I think what it will do is to allow us to protect innovation, but also gives us the opportunity to prevent widespread deposit flight,” Alsobrooks said, adding that the deal prohibits stablecoin yield on “passive balances.” Read more
The legislative recommendations highlight six policy areas, including copyright, energy and workforce development, while signaling a lighter regulatory stance. The Trump administration has released a national AI legislative framework for the United States, calling on Congress to establish a unified federal framework and warning that a patchwork of state laws could hinder innovation and competitiveness. The framework is structured around six core policy areas: protecting children and empowering parents, strengthening communities, intellectual property and creator rights, free speech protections, accelerating AI innovation and workforce development. At the center of the proposal is a push for a unified federal approach, with the administration urging Congress to preempt state-level AI laws it says could burden developers. Read more
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt reportedly refocused crypto and bank lobby talks on a crypto bill to allow stablecoin rewards tied to transaction activity. The White House has reportedly refocused talks between crypto and bank lobbyists on limiting how stablecoin rewards should be paid in the third meeting between the two groups over a crypto market structure bill. Crypto and banking industry representatives met at the White House on Thursday for the third time in 16 days to discuss stablecoin provisions that have stalled the crypto bill, which the Senate is looking to pass. No agreement was reached on Thursday, but executives at Coinbase and Ripple said progress was made, as one of the White House’s crypto advisers urged a trade-off that would let third parties, such as exchanges, offer stablecoin rewards only on transaction activity, not on balances. Read more
Trump administration officials held a similar event last week to discuss stablecoin yield within a market structure bill under consideration in Congress. Update (Feb. 19 at 7:21 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a statement from the Crypto Council for Innovation. The White House has held another meeting between representatives from the cryptocurrency and banking industries on a market structure bill under consideration in the US Senate, seeking to iron-out differences on stablecoin yield provisions, among other issues. In a Thursday Fox News interview, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that the company’s chief legal officer, Stuart Alderoty, attended the meeting with White House officials earlier in the day. The CEO’s comments came after unconfirmed reports that the Trump administration would follow its Feb. 10 meeting on the CLARITY Act, a bill to establish digital asset market structure. That meeting did not result in a deal on stablecoins. Read more
Crypto companies and platforms that provide stablecoin rewards have become a major point of contention in the CLARITY crypto market structure bill. The banking industry should not be threatened by crypto companies offering stablecoin yield to customers, and both sides must compromise on the issue, according to White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt. Witt said it was “unfortunate” that the issue of stablecoin yield has become a major point of contention between the crypto industry and banks, adding that crypto service providers sharing yield with customers does not threaten the banking industry’s business model or market share. He told Yahoo Finance: In the future, I don't think this is going to be an issue,” he continued, adding, “I think they're going to find opportunities to use these products and leverage them and offer new products to their customers and expand their businesses.” Read more