CLARITY Act stalled in Senate over dispute between banks and crypto firms on stablecoin yield treatment; passage odds estimated at 33–50% in 2026.
DeFi & Yields ·
The CLARITY Act faces a stalemate in the Senate, with disagreement between banking institutions and cryptocurrency firms over how stablecoin yield should be treated under the legislation. Banks contend that yield-bearing stablecoins function as bank deposits despite their crypto structure, while crypto firms argue that yield generation is fundamental to the product's design and utility. This dispute has halted progress on the bill.
Resolution of this disagreement is a prerequisite for legislative movement. The mechanics of the conflict center on regulatory classification: whether stablecoin yield arrangements trigger banking regulations or fall outside them, a distinction with significant implications for how these instruments can operate and be marketed.
Passage odds for 2026 are estimated between 33 and 50 percent, reflecting the substantial uncertainty around whether the two camps can reach consensus. Until this core dispute is resolved, no forward progress on the bill is expected.