A White House summit on February 2, 2026, aimed to bridge gaps between banking and crypto industries over stablecoin rewards but ended without agreement. Patrick Witt, the president's digital assets adviser, emphasized that ethics provisions targeting President Trump remain unacceptable. Negotiations continue amid Democratic demands for stricter rules on officials' crypto involvement.
On February 2, 2026, the White House hosted a closed-door meeting led by Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council for Advisors for Digital Assets, to address sticking points in the U.S. Senate's crypto market structure bill. Participants included representatives from the American Bankers Association (ABA), Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), Blockchain Association, The Digital Chamber, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, and Financial Services Forum. The session focused on disagreements over paying interest or yields on stablecoins, a issue that has stalled progress for months.
While both sides described the meeting as constructive, no compromise was reached. A joint statement from the banking groups noted: "As we shared in the meeting, we must ensure that any legislation supports the local lending to families and small businesses that drives economic growth and supports the safety and soundness of our financial system." Banks urged closing a loophole that could let crypto firms bypass prohibitions on stablecoin rewards under the Genius Act.
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger called it "an important step toward finding solutions," adding that stablecoin rewards is a key remaining issue. "Blockchain Association remains committed to working with policymakers across the aisle to get good legislation signed into law," she said. The Digital Chamber's CEO Cody Carbone expressed optimism on X: "We look forward to continuing this kind of work to ensure market structure rules of the road will become law before this Congress ends."
Separately, Witt told CoinDesk that the White House draws "red lines" against ethics provisions targeting President Trump or his family, calling earlier Democratic proposals by Senator Adam Schiff "completely outrageous." He stressed: "We're not going to allow the targeting of the president individually or his family members." Democrats, who met industry representatives on January 16 and plan another session on February 5, seek bans on top officials profiting from crypto. Witt aims to broker a deal, noting the president's desire for the bill to reach his desk, with compromises due by late February to beat midterm election distractions. Additional meetings are expected as the bill requires 60 Senate votes for passage.
