Well, Bitcoin getting another boost this morning and holding above that 81,000 level.
Crypto is higher on optimism and hopes of a compromise on Capitol Hill that could possibly clear the way for the Clarity Act.
Now last week, Senators Tillis and also Brooks struck a deal on stablecoin rewards, but the revised text explicitly bans crypto firms from offering anything that acts like an interest. back deposit, the fine print includes broad exceptions that still allow firms to pay rewards for staking posting collateral and market making liquidity and despite the progress, banking groups releasing a statement last night saying that the yield compromise falls short.
They do claim the legislation doesn't fully ban interest payments and say they'll be releasing new suggestions in the coming days.
And a few days ago, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. took to X to announce he now backs the legislation for markup.
Well, joining us live in Miami to cut through the noise is Cleve Mesidor, Executive Director of the Blockchain Foundation.
So great to have you here.
We are here in South Beach, Miami, and consensus is finally kicking off.
But what do you make of what we're seeing on Capitol Hill?
Oh my goodness.
Well, it's great to be here at Consensus.
I've been at every consensus since 2017.
Only missed Toronto last year, so wonderful to be in Miami.
I will say stablecoins have had an interesting last few days.
So it's not just the compromise that you mentioned from Senators Tillis and also Brooks.
It's also that the, the period for comment closed for the OCC.
The OCC will be the regulator for stablecoins.
The May 1st was the last day to provide.
Comments on the implementation of Genius and we saw a lot of banks at the 11th hour put in comments, but also I wrote an article for Forbes this week that there's still a lot of work still to be done on stablecoins.
Like the genius was just the first piece and now that we've we're addressing this piece on stablecoins within the market structure bill and hopefully, hopefully with this compromise by Senators Tillis and also Book, we'll get a markup in Senate Banking.
But there's other legislation still to do.
So as we move forward and hopefully towards a markup in Senate banking, I hope we continue in this bipartisan path, and I hope we continue to refine the stablecoin market so that it can be resilient and secure.
Yes, so for American viewers who are watching right now and are trying to understand this back and forth that's actually taking place, what would you say to them and what do you think needs to be?
Done to actually strike that balance between innovation and consumer protection.
Well, I think at the heart of the fight we've seen between banks and crypto on this issue of yield is because we still have 1930s policies regulating the financial system.
We've evolved by Fintech Fintech took the financial system so far along, and with digital assets, it's a new landscape.
The current rules are not sufficient, so.
What we saw with the stablecoin bill was a new paradigm, and the bank said, wait, wait, wait, wait, right, we have to issue loans, we have to do all of these mandates, but these stablecoin companies don't, don't have to.
So yes, so we'll do a compromise, but it's clear we need an overhaul of the financial system where it works for fintechs, it works for banks, but it also works for digital assets and it also works for smaller entities like CDFISA.
And MDIs, the small subset of the financial system.
Yeah, and speaking of which, it is May, and that means it is Small Business Month.
So for Main Street, how are they actually using tokenization right now?
Yeah, so Small Business Week for me is an opportunity to talk about small crypto.
One of the biggest opportunities for small institutions is tokenization.
Like when you look at the guidance that's been given to banks already on tokenization.
What about small businesses?
What about minority suppliers and contractors?
What about federal contractors?
What about small financial depositories?
They actually have assets on the balance sheet that they can tokenize, and tokenization makes it easier for them to actually participate and take fuller, fuller advantage of digital assets.
So I'm hoping that in May we'll be talking about that a bit more as we've talked about before, Blockchain Foundation.
Did a project with Kellogg to really survey CDFIs and MDIs, these small depositories about digital assets, and the results are in.
We just published the results, and what what CDFIs and MDIs said that they have interest, but they're concerned about risk, but they need more guidance.
That guidance can only come from regulators and we've seen how much it's taken to give the digital asset space regulatory clarity.
The regulators and Washington policymakers have to think about the smaller players as well.
We can't be doing this legislative work in a vacuum, so much more work to be done.
Yeah.
And speaking of which, Cleve, we are just kicking off.
Consensus here in Miami and given the fact that there is traditional finance as well as decentralized finance policymakers as well as innovators here on the ground, give us an idea of the temperature in the room.
You've been here for a few days.
I like, I was here for Haderaon yesterday.
The Hadera ecosystem is wonderful.
It's a great convening.
You're right.
Policymakers are here.
Traditional banks like Citi are here as well as crypto.
This is a crypto convening, so they're coming to our turf, and the backdrop is, it's a tense environment.
You mentioned that the banks are pushing back on this final compromise that Senator Tillerson and also Brooks pushed, you know, pushed to actually.
Come together, but it's compromise.
We have to move forward, but there's some tensions there.
But consensus with all of these conferences is an opportunity to come to consensus, right?
It's actually an opportunity to talk, to engage, and I'm glad that all of the players are here.
We can talk about some of the sticking points, resolve some of the issues, because there's still a lot of work to be done, yeah, and absolutely, because when we think about this year's theme at Consensus 2026.
It is convergence, and we are seeing that on the ground.
It's really interesting because we look at the price of the crypto majors, in particular Bitcoin.
We are seeing gains above that 80,000 level.
So what is the mood when it comes to some of the conversations that are actually taking place right now?
Yeah, crypto is definitely in a bear market.
I'm happy to see, you know, Bitcoin getting up there as a Bitcoin holder and, you know, a big supporter of Bitcoin.
That is our North Star for the industry, but I think the bear market still holds, right?
Crypto doesn't operate in a vacuum with the backdrop of war, with an economy that's struggling, with the lack of regulatory clarity, with market structure being stalled.
That has a, has an effect.
But this is about the long play.
We're still at the starting line.
There's so much work to be done, even if we've passed markets. this year, taxation.
I'm glad to hear the House Taxation Committee says, you know, they want a bipartisan approach, which is we need, we need to be.
And with midterms, the signal is the balance of power is going to shift.
Democrats may take back the House, even maybe the Senate.
That's going to have an impact on crypto policy.
So I do think for the crypto industry we're optimistic.
About getting the framework that we need and we need, we need an industry that is resilient, that can withstand any political shifts in Washington or even at the state level.
Well, Clave, as you mentioned, midterms are right around the corner.
A lot to keep in mind between now and then, so I'm sure you and I will be having more conversations.
So thank you so much for joining us this morning in Miami.
Thank you.
Thank you.
