Banks to Merge with Crypto Under GENIUS Act Framework Amid Market Structure Push

GENIUS Act-based framework could normalize stablecoins and yields as banks embrace a unified digital-asset industry amid pending market-structure legislation.

Rich by Coin

2026-01-25

David Sacks, President Trump’s AI and crypto czar, foresees a fundamental shift where traditional banks dive headlong into cryptocurrencies, erasing the divide between Wall Street stalwarts and digital-asset innovators.

In a CNBC Squawk Box interview, he said, “The banks are going to get fully into the crypto industry. So we’re not going to have a separate banking industry and crypto industry. It’s going to be one digital assets industry.” The comments come as market-structure legislation stalls, with banks expected to issue stablecoins and seek yields once regulatory clarity arrives.

The catalyst is a crypto market-structure bill expected for Senate markup in January 2026.

Sacks, speaking as White House advisor, urged compromise on stablecoin rewards, arguing for a solution so a bill can land on the president’s desk; banks oppose third-party platforms offering yields, while crypto firms see them as vital for competition.

Sacks warned that if the bill dies, there will be a form of rewards.

President Trump bolstered the push during his World Economic Forum speech in Switzerland, voicing support for the legislation.

This aligns with the administration’s pro-crypto stance since Trump’s December 2024 appointment of Sacks, a PayPal alum and Craft Ventures partner who divested over $200 million in crypto holdings.

Sacks’s vision builds on the GENIUS Act, signed in August 2025, which regulates stablecoins and already permits yields in certain forms.

The GENIUS Act—formally the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins—marks a milestone, with regulators like the FDIC proposing procedures for banks to issue stablecoins via subsidiaries by mid-2026.

Yet, its passage died about three times before it finally passed, Sacks recalled on CNBC, likening it to current negotiations.

Banks, via the American Bankers Association, lobby to close perceived loopholes allowing affiliates to offer stablecoin rewards, fearing deposit drains.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew support over yield bans, delaying markup, but Sacks views it strategically: Yield matters philosophically to crypto, but market structure is paramount.