stable coins

Story: Community Banker Challenges Blockchain Association Over Clarity Act Stablecoin Rewards

By Pankaj K

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Mersinger's Defense of the Provision. Mersinger's position is pretty much the opposite. She thinks the Clarity Act is a modernization…

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What's Actually at Stake for Small Banks. Community banking has always operated on a different model — local relationships, narrower…

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The fight over stablecoins just got personal for small-town bankers. Summer Mersinger of the Blockchain Association is pushing back hard against claims that the Clarity Act's…

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Nate Franzén, a community banker, has been vocal. He thinks the Clarity Act's stablecoin rewards language creates a lopsided playing field, one where larger financial…

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It's a reasonable pitch. But Franzén's camp isn't buying it, at least not fully. His worry is that the legislation, whatever its intentions, might inadvertently tilt things…

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The stablecoin rewards provision is the specific flashpoint here. It's the language in the Clarity Act that has community bankers most on edge, because rewards tied to stablecoin…

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Community banking has always operated on a different model — local relationships, narrower margins, less leverage over vendors and technology providers.

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Read also: Bitcoin Futures See Crypto Collateral Plummet to Just 12% as Stablecoins Rise

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Franzén has been clear about wanting equal opportunities in the legislation. That's a different ask from blocking stablecoin adoption entirely. He's not anti-innovation.

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Mersinger, for her part, keeps coming back to the level playing field argument. She sees the act as designed to push all banks toward responsible adoption of stablecoin…

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Whether that theory holds up in practice is unclear yet. No policymakers have weighed in publicly with additional comments at this stage, and the legislative process is still…

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The gap between Mersinger and Franzén probably won't close without some adjustments to the bill's language.

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Read also: CoinShares Proposes 131 Million Share Buyback, But Will Use Full Authority?

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It's a familiar tension. New financial technology moves fast. Regulation tries to catch up. And the institutions with the least cushion tend to feel the friction most.

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The Clarity Act's stablecoin rewards provision stays at the center of it all, and Franzén isn't done pushing.

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