The draft CLARITY Act is generating debate in the United States for prohibiting passive income in stablecoins, while banks warn of risks and the industry defends competitiveness.
The legislative landscape for digital assets in the United States is experiencing a period of high tension and political negotiation as the rules of the game for the next decade are defined. This week, the financial sector's attention has focused on the postponement of the vote on the so-called CLARITY Act, a market structure bill that seeks to end regulatory uncertainty but has sparked a fierce dispute between traditional banks and cryptocurrency issuers.
Although an immediate resolution was expected, sources close to the legislative process confirmed that the vote has been rescheduled for late January 2026, allowing additional time for lobbying and discussion of one of the most controversial points in the text, namely the prohibition of passive returns on stablecoin holdings.
The proposed regulations have raised concerns both on Wall Street and within the crypto ecosystem due to their implications for how users interact with stablecoins. At the heart of the conflict is a provision that prevents issuers of these stablecoins from paying interest to users simply for holding the tokens in their wallets. This measure represents a partial victory for traditional banking institutions, which have long argued that allowing such payments without a federal banking license poses a systemic risk and constitutes unfair competition against insured deposits.
Trade stablecoins and stay ahead of regulationStrong tension between traditional banking and the crypto industry
The banking sector's position was recently articulated by Jeremy BarnumJPMorgan Chase & Co.'s chief financial officer used a corporate earnings call to warn about the dangers of what he called a shadow banking system. According to the executive, allowing technology companies to offer products that resemble interest-bearing deposits, but without the prudential safeguards that banks have developed over hundreds of years, is an undesirable practice and potentially dangerous for financial stability.
Barnum emphasized that if a crypto product looks and functions like a bank account, it should be subject to the same strict regulations.
However, the bill in question does not eliminate all forms of income for cryptocurrency users, creating a complex negotiation landscape. The draft legislation prohibits passive income derived from simply holding stablecoins, but explicitly allows rewards tied to specific activities within the digital ecosystem. This means that users could still earn profits by using their stablecoins for transfers, payments, remittances, or by providing liquidity in decentralized finance protocols. This distinction aims to differentiate between what would be a passive investment product similar to a security and operational utility within the crypto economy.
From the perspective of the industry, represented by organizations such as the Blockchain Association, this restriction is viewed with strategic concern. Dan SpullerThe executive vice president of the association argued that limiting rewards on dollar-based stablecoins could weaken the position of the US currency globally.
The crypto industry fears that by restricting the economic incentives for regulated digital dollars in the United States, an inadvertent competitive advantage will be given to foreign central bank digital currencies or stablecoins issued in jurisdictions with more flexible legal frameworks.
Manage your digital assets at Bit2MeA respite for non-custodial software development
Beyond the controversy surrounding stablecoin returns, the CLARITY Act also introduces a significant change in the legal treatment of software developers, a point that has been welcomed with relief by privacy and decentralization advocates. The current draft includes protections to prevent creators of non-custodial software from being prosecuted under money transmission laws.
This legislative change responds directly to recent court cases, such as the trial against roman storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, and the convictions against the developers of Samourai Wallet, who were accused of operating unlicensed money transmission businesses simply for writing and publishing code.
Under the proposed new regulations, a clear distinction is drawn between having control of a user's funds and simply providing the technological tool for the user to manage their assets. Truly decentralized protocols would have minimal obligations under this law, a departure from the legal theory prosecutors have used in the past year to target the creators of mixers and private wallets. However, centralized interfaces that facilitate access to these decentralized protocols will still be subject to monitoring requirements to combat money laundering and cybercrime, including blocking sanctioned addresses and monitoring suspicious transactions.
On the other hand, the legislation addresses the long-standing jurisdictional dispute between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. For years, both agencies have competed to define who should oversee digital assets and their transactions. This regulation establishes a clearer dividing line between digital securities and digital commodities, providing market participants with a more predictable legal framework. This is expected to lead to greater regulatory transparency and a more secure path for innovation within the U.S. crypto ecosystem.
Buy crypto on Bit2Me and trade todayThe market is on edge ahead of the vote at the end of January
The postponement of the vote The CLARITY Act's deadline of the end of January gives lawmakers and interest groups a few crucial days to refine the language of the text.
Patrick Witt, a White House official, suggested on social media that the current agreement represents an unavoidable compromise where both traditional banks and the crypto sector gain benefits and make concessions. For banks, it closes the door on unregulated passive income that threatened their deposit model; for the crypto sector, it provides legal clarity for developers and a regulated path to operate in the world's largest economy.
The financial community is awaiting the final version that will emerge from the Agriculture Committee and the Banking Committee. The passage of this law would mark the end of the era of regulatory ambiguity in the United States, establishing a formal framework that, while imposing significant restrictions on passive income models with stablecoins, legitimizes the underlying technological infrastructure and protects the act of writing code as a distinct activity from financial intermediation.
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