Banks pushed Congress to kill stablecoin yield with CLARITY Act – Coinbase may have found the loophole
The CLARITY Act would ban “passive” interest on stablecoins while allowing “activity-based” rewards tied to real platform usage or trading. That creates a possible loophole: Coinbase could route USDC into Ethena’s active, delta-neutral yield strategy and pass profits to users as permitted rewards rather than bank-like interest. This matters because Coinbase depends heavily on stablecoin revenue and holds about $19 billion in USDC. Banks and figures like Jamie Dimon argue the rule could let crypto pay deposit-like yields without bank safeguards, risking deposit outflows and margin pressure. The broader threat is less a systemwide run than a gradual shift of idle cash toward higher-yield crypto products, which could force banks to raise deposit rates.
