White House Report Finds Stablecoin Rewards Would Have Negligible Impact on Community Banks

The United States passed the GENIUS Act in July 2025, barring stablecoin issuers from paying interest directly but leaving unclear whether third parties such as trading platforms may offer rewards. Whether the CLARITY Act should close that channel has become a point of contention in Congress. The banking industry fears funds could leave insured deposits and weaken community-bank lending, while the Treasury Department previously estimated that as much as $6.6 trillion in deposits could be affected.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers released a model on April 8, 2026, showing that a blanket ban on stablecoin yields would increase bank lending by just $2.1 billion, or about 0.02%. Lending by community banks with less than $10 billion in assets would rise by only $500 million, or about 0.026%. On April 13, the American Bankers Association challenged the study, saying it asked the wrong question and should instead assess potential deposit outflows if yields were allowed.