Author: Crypto in America and Eleanor Terrett Translator: Shan Oppa, Golden Finance

Three weeks have passed in February, and the month-end deadline set by the White House is approaching - requiring the crypto industry and the banking industry to agree on stablecoin returns, which is also the key to promoting the passage of the Clarity Act. The two sides have held two rounds of talks and could hold a third this week, but no agreement has been reached.

Last Tuesday, the White House convened a meeting of senior policy staff from banks and crypto companies and representatives of industry associations. At the meeting, the bank circulated a one-page document titled "Prohibition Principles of Income and Interest", advocating that any income or rewards linked to stablecoins should be prohibited, but the meeting ultimately failed to reach a consensus.

In response, the Digital Chamber, an industry group representing more than 130 crypto companies and some traditional banks investing in digital assets, released its own proposal on Friday proposing to allow payment-based stablecoins to generate revenue in decentralized finance (DeFi).

The organization stated: "These principles are intended to maintain the payment instrument properties of stablecoins, protect DeFi liquidity and U.S. dollar dominance, and establish a rigorous, data-driven framework to evaluate the impact on deposits."

Banks have not yet formally responded to the Digital Chamber of Commerce’s principle plan, but a source close to the Senate Banking Committee told U.S. Crypto that the document is constructive, while cautioning that some proposals may be too broad and difficult to gain support from banks.

What will happen next?

Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Encryption Council, told Yahoo Finance on Friday that a new round of meetings could be held as soon as this week, but did not disclose a specific date. Meanwhile, the House and Senate are in recess for the Presidents Day holiday.

It is unclear whether the two sides can reach an agreement before the end of the month, but the issue is a key obstacle that must be cleared before the Senate Banking Committee can reschedule the Clarity Act committee vote and send the bill to the full chamber for a vote.

CFTC appoints crypto industry giants to form advisory board

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig appointed a number of crypto industry leaders to the newly established Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) to provide policy advice on financial market innovation.

The committee has a total of 35 people, and its members include: CEOs of Coinbase, Ripple, Uniswap, Kraken, Bullish, Grayscale and other institutions, as well as executives of Wall Street giants such as Nasdaq, CME, CBOE and ICE. Executives from sports betting companies FanDuel and DraftKings, prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as representatives from industry organizations such as the Futures Industry Association (FIA) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) are also on the list.

The committee builds on a 10-person list originally announced last year by former acting chairwoman Caroline Pham and later formally confirmed by Selig.

Selig said: “By bringing together participants from all sectors of the market, the Innovation Advisory Board will be an important asset to the committee as we update regulatory rules for financial innovation now and in the future.”

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins accepts congressional inquiry

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins attended a Senate Banking Committee hearing last week and made a clear distinction with his predecessor Gary Gensler: replacing “enforcement-style regulation” with clear rules.

He said that tokenized securities are still securities and investors have the right to self-custody of assets, and emphasized that Congress must legislate to provide long-term certainty for the market and avoid crypto innovators falling into a regulatory gray area.

In terms of capital formation, Atkins said the SEC is willing to update the accredited investor rules and explore alternative standards beyond income and net worth for judging professional investment capabilities. He also mentioned increased scrutiny of foreign private issuers, audit supervision and the Comprehensive Audit Trail (CAT) – all areas related to transparency, risk management and cross-departmental collaboration.

Despite criticism from Democrats that the SEC under his leadership has significantly scaled back enforcement actions and weakened investor protection, Atkins argued that the SEC is still actively monitoring fraud and market abuse, including in the crypto field, while avoiding regulatory overreach that exceeds its legal authority. He has repeatedly emphasized that coordination with the CFTC, modernizing rules, and data-driven regulation are key to maintaining the competitiveness of the U.S. market without stifling innovation.