The revised section of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would ban yield payments for simply holding a stablecoin, removing the option to pay holders rewards on balances under that language. Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis announced the language on Friday. The revised section is part of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and follows last year’s GENIUS Act as the next legislative development.
The revised section of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act would ban yield payments for simply holding a stablecoin, prohibiting payment of rewards based solely on maintaining a stablecoin balance. The text would also restrict any program design that makes the arrangement equivalent in any way to a bank deposit, disallowing structures that mirror deposit-like features.
In addition, the language places further limits on other stablecoin-related activities that might otherwise be permitted, while leaving the specific mechanics and operational details of those additional limits unspecified. The provisions focus on prohibiting passive balance-based yield and constraining deposit-like program structures without spelling out enforcement methods or precise implementation steps.
As written, the section sets categorical limits on yield and deposit equivalence and signals additional constraints whose exact scope remains unclear.
A version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act passed the House last year, and another version cleared a markup in the Senate Agriculture Committee, each representing separate congressional actions on the bill. The Senate Banking Committee faces a decision that could lead to a final, combined version for a Senate vote, a step described as potentially reconciling the differing texts. Those procedural developments reflect the bill’s progress through multiple congressional stages as lawmakers consider competing drafts.
The crypto industry reviewed the revised language in a closed-door session on Capitol Hill. Democrats seek increased oversight of decentralized finance and stronger protections against illicit finance as part of their policy objectives. Those Democratic priorities have been identified alongside legislative consideration of the Clarity Act and are cited in reporting on the measure.
The Clarity Act narrows permissible use of stablecoins by curtailing passive balance-based rewards, constraining program designs that mirror traditional deposit products, and signaling further constraints on other stablecoin-related activities, while leaving the precise mechanics and scope of those additional limits uncertain. Framed as the next legislative step after last year’s GENIUS Act, the measure represents a continued congressional effort to set clearer regulatory boundaries for stablecoin practices.
