Clarity Act text lets crypto firms offer stablecoin rewards while shielding bank yield

Stablecoin yield would be prohibited under a newly released agreement addressing that contentious part of the crypto market structure legislation in an approach that’s broadly similar to what’s been discussed since the start of the year.

The new section of proposed Digital Asset Market Clarity Act text released Friday revealed that the compromise hashed out by U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) would ban stablecoin issuers from offering yield based on just holding stablecoin reserves. It contends that “depository institutions provide financial services that are integral to the strength of the American economy,” and stablecoin issuers offering similar services “may inhibit” these institutions.

Coming to an agreement means there’s likely nothing in the way of a Senate Banking Committee hearing (known as a markup) that could finally advance the legislation another key step in its progress through the Senate, though there are a number of other negotiation points that haven’t been publicly resolved.

“Mark it up,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong wrote in a posting on social media site X. His company had been at the center of the talks and potentially had the most to lose from restriction on stablecoin rewards.

Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, said in a separate post that this language “preserves activity-based rewards tied to real participation on crypto platforms and networks, which is what the bank lobby said they wanted,” adding that “we’re focused on getting a bill done and are satisifed that this language should not be the basis of any objection.”

In its legalese, the new text reads, “No covered party shall, directly or indirectly, pay any form of interest on yield (whether in cash, tokens, or other consideration) to a restricted recipient — (A) solely in connection with the holding of such restricted recipient’s payment stablecoins; or (B) on a payment stablecoin balance in a manner that is economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.”

This restriction does not apply to incentives “based on bona fide activities or bona fide transactions” that are different from yield generated by interest-bearing bank deposits, the text said, maintaining an approach to rewards that’s similar to what financial firms offer on credit card activity. The restriction does apply to loyalty programs or similar efforts.

Senators Alsobrooks and Tillis have been negotiating details of the text for the last few months, after a Senate Banking Committee markup on the overall Clarity Act was postponed last-minute in January. Since then, bank lobbyists and crypto insiders have been weighing in on the compromise effort, sometimes in session hosted by the White House.

In March, the lawmakers had said they’d struck an agreement that blocked crypto firms from offering yield that looked like deposit interest but did allow them to structure rewards programs that didn’t rival banks’ core products.

In a statement, Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone said the trade association “welcomes the public release of stablecoin yield language as an important step toward resolving one of the final issues standing between the Committee and a markup. We are encouraged to see this process moving forward and will continue advocating for the power of rewards to drive consumer utility, competition, and innovation across the digital asset ecosystem.”

UPDATE (May 1, 2026, 21:54 UTC): Adds comments from Coinbase executives.