Stablecoin Yields and the CLARITY Act: Why Crypto May Need to Pick Its Battles

By Ric Edelman | Founder, Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals
March 3, 2026

The American Bankers Association posted an open letter to the U.S. Senate, signed by 3,200 bankers, demanding that the CLARITY Act prohibit stablecoins from offering yields to investors.

The bankers argue that “stablecoin rewards will siphon trillions from local lending, leaving less money available for car loans, agricultural loans, mortgages, and small business borrowing that drive local economies.”

But there are two words missing from that quote: the bill would leave “less money available” FROM BANKS for lending. The bankers are correct to fret that stablecoin providers would attract trillions of dollars in assets if they’re allowed to pay interest to those accounts. The bankers fear unprecedented competition. But they are dead wrong when they say that the nation’s economy would be harmed. The truth is quite the opposite: stablecoin providers would use their newly won AUM to become lenders themselves, replacing the function that for centuries has been provided by banks. Bankers are right to be suffering from insomnia over this.

In short, the bankers’ claim that only they can keep the economy running is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep their turf. It’s a weak argument.

That said, I support their position. Not because I agree with them, but because I believe they will win this fight in the Senate. Sure, Fairshake has ~$200 million that it’ll deploy against any member of Congress who dares oppose it – but the banking lobby is even more powerful. Until now, the banking and crypto communities have largely been allies. But their split over this issue will sharply reduce Fairshake’s ability to get the bill it wants – and if the CLARITY Act isn’t passed within the next several weeks, there’s a good chance that it’ll never get passed (especially if the Republicans lose control of the House in the midterms, which most pundits currently expect to occur).

My point is this: as much as Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong wants stablecoins to be able to offer yield, and as much as I agree with him, this issue is not the hill to die on. The legislation is too important, there are too many other ways to achieve the goal, and there is far too much money to be made elsewhere by the crypto community.

The crypto community can use this impasse to get everything it wants on every other unresolved item in the bill. And let’s be clear: if the bill fails, the crypto movement will suffer the kind of setback it was forced to endure during the Biden era. But if the bill passes, it will spur crypto to a new era of astonishing and unprecedented growth and profits.

Let’s win the war, and not allow ourselves to be overly fixated on a single battle.

Featured image properly licensed through Freepik