PCAST Appointments Signal White House Crypto Strategy as CLARITY Act Negotiations Continue
On March 25, 2026, the White House announced the first group of members for the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a key advisory body on science and technology policy. The council will be co-chaired by David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, and includes major technology leaders such as Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Lisa Su, Michael Dell, and Safra Catz.
Notably, the council also includes Marc Andreessen and Fred Ehrsam — two major figures in the crypto investment industry. Their appointments are being viewed as significant in the context of ongoing negotiations around the CLARITY Act.
Background: The Crypto Industry Split Over the CLARITY Act
The CLARITY Act has been one of the most important crypto market structure bills in the United States. Although it passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 with bipartisan support, progress in the Senate has been complicated by disagreements within the crypto industry itself.
In January 2026, Brian Armstrong announced that Coinbase could not support the bill in its current form due to concerns over stablecoin yield provisions. He stated that the company would prefer no bill rather than a bill that harmed its business model.
Other major crypto companies and investors — including venture firms and crypto infrastructure companies — continued to support the bill, arguing that regulatory clarity was more important for the industry’s long-term growth than disagreements over specific provisions.
This disagreement created a split within the crypto industry, not between banks and crypto companies, but within the crypto sector itself.
The Commercial Reason Behind the Disagreement
The main issue centers around stablecoin yield. Coinbase earns significant revenue from stablecoin-related income, particularly from interest generated on stablecoin reserves and distributed to users as rewards. Restrictions on stablecoin yield would directly impact this revenue stream.
However, venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz and Paradigm invest across a wide range of crypto companies — including infrastructure providers, exchanges, DeFi platforms, and blockchain networks. For these firms, the broader regulatory clarity provided by the CLARITY Act could benefit many portfolio companies, even if some business models are affected by stablecoin yield restrictions.
As a result, some parts of the industry are willing to accept compromises in order to secure a long-term regulatory framework.
Banks vs Stablecoins: The Bigger Financial Issue
Another major factor influencing negotiations is the traditional banking sector. Analysts have warned that if stablecoins were allowed to offer unrestricted yield, large amounts of money could move from bank deposits into stablecoin products. This could reduce the deposit base that banks rely on for lending.
Because of this, banks have pushed for restrictions on stablecoin yield, and the current draft of the CLARITY Act reflects a compromise closer to the banking sector’s position.
What the PCAST Appointments Signal
PCAST does not create laws or regulate markets, but it plays an important advisory role in shaping technology policy. By appointing Andreessen and Ehrsam to the council, the White House has signaled which parts of the crypto industry it views as key partners in policy discussions.
Since both Andreessen and Ehrsam supported moving forward with the CLARITY Act despite industry disagreements, their presence on the council suggests the administration may favor a regulatory framework that prioritizes overall market structure clarity, even if it requires compromises on specific business models.
What Happens Next
The Senate Banking Committee is expected to review the CLARITY Act again in the second half of April. Key issues still under negotiation include:
- Stablecoin yield rules
- Digital asset classification
- DeFi regulation
- Tokenization rules
Lawmakers have indicated that if the bill does not move forward before the upcoming election cycle, major crypto legislation could be delayed for a significant period.
