US cryptocurrency legislation faces another setback.

After more than five weeks of negotiations and maneuvering, the United States has made another breakthrough in cryptocurrency legislation, completing an important vote before the congressional recess. This means that in 2026, the United States may establish a regulatory framework for all types of cryptocurrencies at the federal level. The U.S. Congress will adjourn during the last week of May, and the recess will continue until early June. Shortly before, the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the "Senate Banking Committee") suddenly held a key hearing (markup hearing) on ​​the Digital Asset Markets Clarity Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Clarity Act"), and concluded with a score of 1. The procedural vote was passed with a score of 5:9. The version of the Clarity Act used in this vote has undergone numerous revisions compared to the initial version several months ago. The bill has increased from 278 pages to 309 pages; corresponding adjustments have also been made to address issues of concern to all parties, such as stablecoin yields. This crucial step made it possible for the Clarity Act to be passed and enacted into law before Congress's summer recess in August. This vote also continues the legislative trend of last year: On July 18, 2025, US President Trump signed the "Directing and Building a National Innovation for Stablecoins Act" (hereinafter referred to as the "GENIUS Act"). The Clarity Act, passed by the House of Representatives, was sent to the Senate for further legislative proceedings. The bill establishes rules at the federal level for the issuance and operation of payment-based stablecoins pegged to the US dollar. On the same day, the Clarity Act passed the House and was transferred to the Senate for the next stage of the legislative process. Unlike the GENIUS Act, which only addresses payment-type stablecoins, the Clarity Act not only covers all blockchain-related digital assets, but also excludes… The primary regulatory authority over cryptocurrencies other than stablecoins has been transferred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which is smaller and has fewer enforcement resources. This means that if the Clarity Act is passed, it will completely reverse the high-pressure regulation of cryptocurrencies established by the Biden administration. Is it legal for stablecoin holders to profit? The main purpose of the Clarity Act is to clearly define which cryptocurrencies are securities and which are commodities, thereby clarifying that their regulatory body belongs to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). style="font-family:SimSun">）orCFTC。

But the most influential revision this time is actually the issue of stablecoin yields. The version of the Clarity Act passed by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee this time responded to and adjusted whether yields should be paid to stablecoin holders.。 The "stablecoin yields" were originally considered a minor issue within the Clarity Act, but from [the perspective of] [the context of the issue]... Since January 2026, banking groups and the cryptocurrency industry have been debating this issue. This is a legacy issue of the GENIUS Act, although the Act explicitly prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying direct interest or returns and defines stablecoins as similar to traditional currencies. "Payment-type stablecoins." However, many cryptocurrency platforms have found ways to circumvent regulations—offering rewards related to stablecoin payment activities—which has sparked discontent within the banking industry. On April 8th, local time, the US government suddenly intervened and shifted its stance towards the cryptocurrency industry. The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) released a report stating that prohibiting the payment of interest and returns to stablecoin holders would have little to no substantial impact on bank lending and would instead harm consumer interests (see: ). [Link to article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI0OTEwNzMxNA==&mid=2651108769&idx=1&sn=54e259135c44f28e996ce09b09327584&scene=21#wechat_redirect](https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI0OTEwNzMxNA==&mid=2651108769&idx=1&sn=54e259135c44f28e996ce09b09327584&scene=21#wechat_redirect) [Link to article: US Cryptocurrency Legislation Passes Another Hurdle ... On [date], the American Bankers Association (ABA) countered, stating that current policy should focus on [specific issues], and that allowing payment-based stablecoins to generate yields [would be problematic]. Will this lead to an outflow of deposits from banks, especially from relatively weaker community banks, to stablecoins? Subsequently, bankers continued to lobby and pressure legislators to try to limit the scope of stablecoin rewards. However, lobbying efforts within the US cryptocurrency industry have been more effective. On April 25th, as the legislative window was about to open in May, at a private event hosted for high-end cryptocurrency enthusiasts at Mar-a-Lago, Trump stated that he would not allow the banking industry to undermine the long-delayed Clarity Act. Whether in earlier versions or the latest version, the Clarity Act has consistently maintained a supportive stance towards the cryptocurrency industry: allowing rewards for peer-to-peer payment activities while limiting passive income from stablecoin balances, aiming to... It can both protect traditional bank deposits and promote innovation. Although the latest version of the bill takes into account the demands of the banking industry and is slightly stricter in its wording, it still retains the provision for "rewards based on payment activities". A considerable amount of space is available, encompassing a non-exhaustive list of permitted rewards: transactions, payments, transfers, conversions, remittances, settlement activities (including rebates), market-making liquidity, supply. text="">, Collateral related to transactions, placing assets under credit or investment risk, governance voting, verification, pledging, and use of products or services:Including participation in loyalty, promotion, subscription, or incentive programs. Furthermore, the bill allows these rewards to be calculated "based on the balance, holding period, holding duration, or any combination thereof." Alex Thorne, head of Galaxy Research Institute, believes that this clause is of great significance to the cryptocurrency industry. This means that rewards calculated based on balance or holding period are not prohibited as long as the underlying activity is genuine and the arrangement is not economically equivalent to a deposit. A research report released at the same time pointed out that if the Clarity Act becomes law, it is estimated that trillions of dollars of foreign capital will flow into the US financial system, enough to offset any deposits in US banks. leaf="">The impact of stablecoins. The latest version of the bill also requires that the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (FDIC)... The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Treasury Department must submit a joint report within two years on the global adoption of stablecoins, and the impact of stablecoins on U.S. Treasury yields and demand across different maturities. The impact of the following on the role of the US dollar in global foreign exchange transactions and reserves, the payment costs of stablecoins, and the impact of non-US dollar stablecoins and foreign central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on the dominance of the US dollar. The analysis will be conducted using styles such as style="font-family:SimSun">. The previous version in January only required the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to submit a report on deposit outflows from banks. Alex Thorne believes that this indicates that the U.S. Senate and banks... The committee views stablecoins as a significant factor influencing U.S. Treasury demand and the dollar's dominance, rather than merely focusing on the issue of deposit outflows.

Are cryptocurrency platform developers protected?

What's even more encouraging for the cryptocurrency industry is that the risk of criminal prosecution for some practitioners may be eliminated..

. More importantly, Trump has recently been embroiled in a series of events that could damage his political reputation, including the dispute between his family and the IRS, which could potentially affect his political influence over Republican lawmakers. However, the cryptocurrency industry's lobbying power in the US should not be underestimated. During the 2024 US presidential election, the cryptocurrency industry raised over $245 million in campaign funds. According to other media reports, the cryptocurrency industry plans to take similar action in the 2026 US midterm elections. White House Digital Asset Advisor Patrick Witt stated publicly in early May that the Trump administration planned to push forward the [document/promotion] on July 4th. The bill was clearly passed by Congress. In the United States, a bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then signed by the President before it can become law. Whether the Clarity Act will ultimately become law remains uncertain. As of the end of May, during the congressional recess, the bill had not yet reached the full Senate vote. Sun Yuanzhao, a scholar in the United States, analyzed for Caijing that, on the one hand, if he cannot obtain 60 out of 100 senators' votes in the next round of voting in the Senate, he will be embroiled in a "protracted debate". The procedural changes increase the difficulty and uncertainty of the bill's passage; on the other hand, as mentioned earlier, Trump's political influence, which had previously been a strong advocate for cryptocurrency legislation, has weakened, also adding uncertainty to the bill's passage. Key market indicators also reflect the uncertainty surrounding the bill's passage. After the U.S. Senate Banking Committee passed the Clarity Act, the price of Bitcoin briefly touched $82,000 before quickly falling back to around $77,000. On May 23, cryptocurrencies experienced a collective plunge, experiencing a sharp drop within 24 hours. Bitcoin fell nearly 3% and broke below $76,000, while Ethereum and Dogecoin fell more than 3%.