《CLARITY Act》 Latest Draft: Prohibition on Earning Yield Solely by Holding a Stablecoin

March 24 (CoinDesk) — Crypto industry participants got their first look at updated stablecoin yield provisions in the Senate’s revised *Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act* during a closed-door Capitol Hill hearing Monday in Washington, D.C., with initial reactions calling the language “too narrow and unclear.” The new provisions, unveiled last Friday by Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis, would ban rewards for holding stablecoins alone, restrict practices that equate to bank deposits, and impose additional limits on allowed activities—though the specific mechanism for activity-based stablecoin rewards remains unclarified, per a source familiar with the draft. The compromise stems from lobbying between crypto and banking groups: Banks argued stablecoin yields should not resemble interest-bearing deposits, warning competitive products could harm the industry and stifle lending. The final middle ground allows rewards tied to user stablecoin activity, not account balances. The closed-door hearing aims to push the Senate Banking Committee to schedule a public hearing—a critical step for the bill to advance to a full Senate vote. A similar *Clarity Act* version passed the House last year, while another cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup process. Obstacles remain: Stakeholders have yet to agree on a DeFi regulatory framework, and Democrats are pushing to include a provision barring senior government officials from personal cryptocurrency industry benefits—a measure widely seen as targeting former President Donald Trump.