CLARITY Act Stablecoin Yield Ban: Implications for US Crypto Firms

The CLARITY Act, a US crypto market structure bill, has made significant progress in the Senate after reaching a compromise on its stablecoin yield ban. This provision prohibits US-regulated crypto firms from paying customers interest simply for holding stablecoins.

However, rewards tied to verifiable on-chain activity, such as payments processed or transactions executed, remain permitted. The bill's impact will be felt by users of CeFi platforms in the US, who may no longer earn passive stablecoin yield. Active reward programs linked to spending or on-chain transactions may continue, but this will depend on each platform's legal team.

The compromise has deepened the divide between CeFi and DeFi, with DeFi protocols operating without a licensed intermediary and sitting outside the CLARITY Act's jurisdiction. This regulatory separation is not new in Europe, where MiCA has imposed similar constraints on centralized intermediaries since 2025.