NC Blockchain Urges Tillis to Pass Clarity Act, Warns Yield Ban

NC Blockchain wrote to Sen. Thom Tillis urging him to move the Clarity Act forward and warned that a North Carolina Bankers Association campaign for a total ban on stablecoin yields could drive crypto capital offshore. The industry group said the banks’ push misrepresents local financial institutions and risks undermining collaboration between the state’s tech and banking sectors.

The Clarity Act draft negotiated by Tillis and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks bans passive yields while permitting activity-based rewards, such as transaction-linked incentives or loyalty program tokens. The North Carolina Bankers Association has urged banks to contact Tillis’s office to oppose the current compromise, arguing even permitted activity-based rewards would cause deposit outflows to stablecoins. The association has targeted Tillis because he is a key Republican negotiator and represents a state where many community banks are headquartered.

Tillis has recommended postponing the Senate Banking Committee markup until May 2026. Crypto trade groups and firms including Coinbase say legislative clarity is overdue, noting more than 270 days have passed since the House passed its version of the bill. Lawmakers including Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Sen. Bernie Moreno have warned further delays could push the measure past the 2026 legislative window. At an April 22 event Moreno said the Clarity Act must clear Congress by the end of May; Polymarket odds for passage in 2026 rose from 38% to 46% after his statement.

A White House Council of Economic Advisers report criticized the bank lobbying as ‘greed or ignorance’ and cited analysis estimating stablecoin yield would displace about 0.02% of total bank loans, roughly $2.1 billion, a figure the report used to challenge industry estimates that a yield allowance would cost consumers about $800 million. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that regulatory delays could shift innovation and capital to international hubs such as Singapore and Dubai.

NC Blockchain said the GENIUS Act already subjects stablecoin issuers to federal oversight with reserve, capital and risk-management requirements and described an outright yield ban as redundant. The group cautioned that banning yield could push activity into offshore or opaque structures beyond U.S. regulatory reach and allow other jurisdictions, including the UAE and the EU, to attract yield-bearing digital-asset business.

Regulators are moving in parallel: the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are advancing rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act framework for stablecoin issuers while the Clarity Act’s fate remains uncertain. Industry groups say prompt Senate action is needed to provide legal clarity for firms and banks seeking to work under federal rules.