Stablecoin rewards provisions face industry test in Senate crypto bill

With the CLARITY Act scheduled for a markup on Thursday, some lawmakers could still be at odds over decentralized finance, stablecoins and ethical concerns.

As US senators prepare to mark up a major crypto market structure bill this week, industry leaders are weighing in on proposed changes that could shape whether stablecoin holders can earn interest and rewards.

According to an amended draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act released on Monday, the bill states that “a digital asset service provider may not pay any form of interest or yield [...] solely in connection with the holding of a payment stablecoin,” effectively barring passive, deposit-like returns on stablecoin balances.

The draft leaves room for structured reward mechanisms, as stablecoin rewards would not be prohibited under certain circumstances, including “providing liquidity or collateral” or “governance, validation, staking, or other ecosystem participation.”

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