Key Takeaways
- U.S. Senate Banking Committee Releases 309-page Amendment to the Clarity Bill
- Stablecoin regulation and DeFi protection will be discussed and voted on on May 14
U.S. Senate Unveils Their Final Amendment to the Clarity Bill
On May 12, 2026, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee released a 309-page amendment to the Clarity Act, a bill for the market structure of cryptocurrency.
Tim Scott, committee chairman, said in a statement, “This bill is the result of bipartisan consultation by the entire committee and provides the certainty, safeguards, and accountability that the American people demand.”
The amendments include a persistently controversial ban on yields on stablecoins and a Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (BRCA) that protects the developers of DeFi (decentralized finance).
In the amendment, the ethics clause covering virtual currency (crypto asset) transactions by government officials, which the Democratic Party has been seeking, has not been adopted. Moreover, the response to the issue of conflict of interest surrounding the virtual currency business of President Trump’s family remains a source of contention.
Yield Regulation in Section 404, banking industry rebounds
Section 404 of the amendment to the Clarity Act includes a clause prohibiting yield on stablecoins.
The clause prohibits “interest based solely on holdings” and “payments that are economically and functionally equivalent to interest on bank deposits,” while allowing benefits linked to trading activities such as settlements, staking, and remittances.
This article follows the final version of the document released by Rep. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Maryland) and Rep. Tom Tillis (R-North Carolina) early in May. The cryptocurrency industry, through representatives such as Coinbase, has also expressed support, with long-standing discussions over yield regulations coming to an end.
Opposition also comes from the banking industry. In a letter to bank executives on May 10, Rob Nichols, CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA), said that the current provision “disproportionately encourages the outflow of funds from bank deposits to payment stablecoins” and appealed for more amendments.
