David Sacks Says Banks and Crypto Will Become One Industry

Banks and crypto firms will not stay separate forever. That was the message from White House crypto czar David Sacks while speaking this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In an interview on CNBC Squawk Box, Sacks said the long delayed US crypto market structure bill could eventually bring traditional banks and crypto companies into a single digital asset industry. He framed the current disagreements as temporary growing pains rather than a permanent divide.

Good to Know

• Sacks spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos
• Stablecoin yield remains the main sticking point in Congress
• A market structure bill could pull banks deeper into crypto

Sacks addressed negotiations around the proposed CLARITY Act, which remains stalled in the US Senate. Lawmakers continue to debate whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield, a question that has split banks and crypto firms.

He said the yield issue has become the biggest barrier to progress, but urged both sides to compromise. Sacks said lawmakers need to deliver a full market structure bill to President Donald Trump rather than allow a single issue to block broader reform.

Yield Debate Slowing Market Structure Bill

Sacks pointed to the GENIUS Act as a useful comparison. That bill failed several times before finally becoming law. He said banks should recognize that yield already exists within the current framework, even if the rules remain unsettled.

He also urged crypto companies to take a wider view of the situation.

“I understand yield is philosophically important to them, but so is getting an overall market structure bill,” Sacks said.

Sacks argued that once Congress passes the legislation, banks will move fully into the crypto space rather than treating it as a parallel system.

Banks Expected to Enter Stablecoin Business

According to Sacks, passage of a market structure bill would erase the current line between traditional finance and crypto.

“After the bill passes, the banks are going to get fully into the crypto industry,” he said. “So we’re not going to have a separate banking industry and crypto, it’s going to be one digital asset industry.”

He added that banks may eventually support paying yield, especially as they begin issuing and managing stablecoins themselves.