<p class="p1"><span class="s1">A key group representing small to mid-sized community banks plans to launch a new ad warning of risks in digital assets, reigniting an ongoing fight between banks and the cryptocurrency industry over language within sweeping digital asset legislation.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The Independent Community Bankers of America unveiled the <a href="https://www.icba.org/w/icba-launches-advocacy-campaign-to-protect-main-street-communities-from-crypto-threat">campaign</a> and ad on Thursday, pushing back against compromised language in the Clarity Act that would govern the treatment of stablecoin rewards. </span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">“Community banks are the backbone of Main Street,” said ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey in a statement. “Americans care about their local economies, but most are unaware of the risks of giving crypto conglomerates a free pass.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Over the past year, the Senate has been working to pass the Clarity Act — a broad bill that seeks to regulate the crypto industry for the first time at the federal level.
It has hit multiple hurdles, including the <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/399966/bank-trade-groups-stablecoin-reward">treatment of stablecoin rewards</a>, which allow users to earn interest on deposited funds. </span></p>
