Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has called on U.S. lawmakers to ensure that stablecoin legislation allows consumers to earn interest, arguing that U.S. policy shouldn’t protect banks at the expense of innovation or the public.
Armstrong said pending legislation should let crypto firms offer “onchain interest” to stablecoin holders, a feature that would allow digital dollars to function like interest-bearing checking accounts, according to a post on X on March 31.
“The government shouldn’t put its thumb on the scale to benefit one industry over another,” Armstrong wrote. “Banks and crypto companies alike should be allowed to, and incentivized to, share interest with consumers. This is consistent with a free market approach.”
Stablecoins like USDC are pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and typically backed by reserve assets such as short-term Treasuries.
Right now, the yield from those assets is largely pocketed by issuers….
