Coinbase CPO Disputes ABA Claims on Stablecoin Rewards and Bank Deposits

Odaily Planet Daily reports: Faryar Shirzad, Chief Policy Officer at Coinbase, authored an article rebutting the American Bankers Association’s concerns regarding stablecoin rewards, stating that existing data does not support the claim that paying rewards on stablecoin platforms leads to deposit outflows from community banks or weakens local lending. Current laws already permit such rewards, and Coinbase has been paying rewards to USDC users for over four years. Faryar Shirzad noted that from June 2019 to March 2026, community bank deposits increased by 26%, or approximately $482 billion; research by Charles River Associates and the Council of Economic Advisers also found no significant relationship between stablecoins and bank deposits. The American Bankers Association is not seeking to amend technical details within the CLARITY Act. The current text prohibits users from receiving returns solely for holding idle funds but permits rewards for genuine activity; the ABA’s proposed amendments could expand restrictions to ordinary stablecoin use cases and leave questions—such as whether merchant cashback constitutes bank interest—to be decided by regulators and litigation. Faryar Shirzad urges maintaining the existing compromise and passing the CLARITY Act, which would grant banks new authorities to custody, stake, lend, process payments, clear transactions, and act as market makers.