🚨NEW: Pulse check on crypto market structure from a handful of conversations with industry sources today. ⬇️ First on yield: The ball appears to be in @SenThomTillis’s court. The North Carolina Republican was shaping up to be a holdout in January when the @BankingGOP Committee was preparing for a markup. Amendments from Tillis and @Sen_Alsobrooks that restricted the scope of stablecoin rewards issued by crypto firms were later cited by @coinbase as one of several reasons it withdrew support for the bill. Now, the White House has shared legislative text (the result of the past month’s negotiations with crypto and banks) with Tillis’s office, which has been meeting with industry and White House reps in recent days, with talks described as “moving in the right direction.” This tracks with my earlier reporting that there may never be a “eureka” moment where crypto and the banks reach full agreement and ride off into the sunset. Instead, it looks like language is being drafted around the minimum both sides can tolerate, with the ultimate goal of quickly getting something back to the Banking Committee to get the ball rolling again. Per @DigitalChamber CEO @CodyCarboneDC: “Sen. Tillis has been very receptive to our discussions about stablecoin yield. I am optimistic we will find a way to get to a "yes" vote on the bill, and we appreciate his work to try to advance market structure rules of the road.” Even if no Democrats vote yes on the Clarity Act during the next Banking Committee markup, it could still pass along party lines, but Tillis’s vote will be crucial if there’s no Democratic buy-in. Meanwhile, other industry stakeholders focused on different parts of the bill tell me the yield issue has “taken a lot of oxygen out of the room,” leaving other sticking points, mostly around DeFi, out to pasture. A DeFi leader involved in market structure negotiations said it feels like Senate Democrats are now scrambling to address those remaining issues. Ethics concerns will likely also remain top of mind for some of those Dem members. One crypto trade exec said they’re now considering alternatives if a Senate Banking markup slips further into the calendar year but remains “cautiously optimistic” that the next three weeks will produce enough progress on yield/rewards and other issues for the Banking Committee to reschedule a markup in late March.(Eleanor Terrett)