The CLARITY Act is moving closer to a Senate vote after lawmakers cracked one of its toughest nuts — how to handle stablecoin yield. But even if the bill fails, at least one major crypto executive says the industry will survive.
LATEST: NEW CLARITY ACT TEXT BANS PASSIVE YIELD BUT ALLOWS ‘BONA FIDE’ REWARDS
Newly released Senate text would block crypto firms from paying yield simply for holding stablecoins in a bank-like manner, while still permitting ‘bona fide’ rewards tied to platform activity and… pic.twitter.com/aYALWh3nio
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 2, 2026
Chris Perkins, CEO of 250 Digital Asset Management, spoke on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast on Friday. He said the crypto industry has what it needs right now, even without new legislation.
Perkins pointed to the SEC under Chair Paul Atkins and the CFTC under Chair Michael Selig. He said both regulators are building policy and setting precedent every day.
“These guys are giving us the one thing we’ve needed for a very long time — certainty, stability, and ultimately, a taxonomy,” Perkins said.
He also noted a major shift in how being classified as a security affects crypto projects. Under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, a security label meant enforcement, delistings, and no clear path forward. That has changed.
“In the past, being a security was a death sentence. Now it is awesome to be a security,” Perkins said.
Perkins did say a passed law would be harder to undo by future administrations. “It takes an act of Congress to do something — and it is even harder to unwind a law,” he said.
On Friday, Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks released compromise text on stablecoin yield, the final major obstacle in the bill.
The new language bars crypto firms from paying interest or yield on stablecoin balances in a way that works like a bank deposit. However, it allows rewards tied to real platform use and transactions.
Firms will need to shift reward programs from a “buy and hold” model to a “buy and use” model to comply.
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger called it a step in the right direction. She warned that every day without a legal framework pushes talent and capital out of the US.
Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte backed the deal without reservation, pointing to the growth of USDC in payments and capital markets.
Coinbase had the most at stake. CEO Brian Armstrong posted “Mark it up” after the text dropped. Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said the language protects activity-based rewards tied to real platform participation.
The Crypto Council for Innovation endorsed the bill but raised concerns. CEO Ji Hun Kim said the new language goes further than last year’s GENIUS Act, which only barred issuers from paying rewards. The new text applies to all digital asset market participants.
Kim still urged the committee to move forward. “The north star is to ensure that the U.S. can lead on crypto,” he wrote on X.
Senator Bernie Moreno said he expects the CLARITY Act to pass by end of May. Senator Cynthia Lummis said in April: “It’s now or never.”
The Senate Banking Committee had previously postponed a markup in January.
The post “It’s Now or Never” — The CLARITY Act Is Closer Than Ever to a Vote appeared first on CoinCentral.
