NC Blockchain Pushes Senate to Advance Stablecoin Bill

North Carolina Blockchain Group Escalates Push for CLARITY Act Markup

The North Carolina Blockchain & AI Initiative sent a formal letter urging Senator Tillis to schedule a committee markup for the CLARITY Act, framing the legislation as essential for regulatory clarity and competitive advantage. The group argues that Charlotte’s status as one of America’s largest banking hubs makes federal digital asset rules critical for keeping financial services rooted in the United States.

“We write to strongly urge your continued leadership in moving the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act to a formal markup,” the letter stated. The initiative emphasized that inaction on crypto regulation threatens to redirect innovation toward more permissive jurisdictions abroad.

Challenging the Stablecoin Yield Ban and Shadow Banking Concerns

The NC Blockchain group directly countered the North Carolina Bankers Association’s opposition to yield on stablecoins. They argued that prior legislation, the GENIUS Act, already addressed systemic risks by bringing stablecoin issuers under federal oversight, moving these activities “from the shadows into a regulated sunlight that protects the entire financial system.”

Rather than banning yield entirely, the group warned that such restrictions could push funds into unregulated markets, creating greater financial risks. They proposed alternative approaches that reward activity without sacrificing competitiveness, positioning the CLARITY Act as a balanced regulatory framework that covers multiple digital asset sectors.

Timeline Pressure as Senate Recess Looms

The legislation faces mounting time constraints. According to FOX journalist Eleanor Terrett, Senator Tillis has requested additional time to negotiate with bank lobbyists over stablecoin yield provisions. He committed to releasing a draft of the stablecoin text before any markup, though no draft has materialized as of the reporting date.

Monday was identified as the critical deadline for announcing an updated markup schedule. If the Senate Banking Committee fails to schedule action by then, the legislation will likely face delays until after the planned weeklong recess, as competing priorities including a Federal Reserve nomination vote on April 29 dominate the committee’s calendar.

Why This Matters for Digital Asset Competitiveness

The NC Blockchain group’s intervention signals growing business pressure on Congress to finalize crypto rules. Banks in North Carolina and beyond currently operate under regulatory uncertainty that prevents them from entering the digital asset market without risking compliance violations. Clear federal standards would unlock a new revenue stream for traditional financial institutions while keeping blockchain innovation anchored to the U.S. financial system.

The stablecoin yield debate represents the core tension: regulators worry about systemic risks, while industry advocates argue that blanket bans simply redirect activity to unregulated alternatives. Ripple, Coinbase, and Kraken have also joined efforts to advance the markup, underscoring broad industry alignment on the need for legislative movement.

What Happens Next

The immediate question is whether Senator Tillis will deliver the promised stablecoin yield draft and schedule the markup before the Senate’s April recess. Without action by Monday, momentum will likely stall into May, giving opponents additional time to mobilize counter-pressure. The NC Blockchain group’s public letter represents an escalation designed to raise political costs for further delays, signaling that the digital asset sector views this moment as decisive for America’s financial innovation agenda.