The Clarity Act could do more than just settle regulatory questions — it may spawn an entirely new market: “yield-as-a-service,” according to Joe Vollono, chief commercial officer at stablecoin infrastructure firm STBL. At the heart of the debate is Section 404 of the proposed bill, which would bar Digital Asset Service Providers (DASPs) and their affiliates from offering yield purely as a function of holding a digital asset. In practice, that would make passive “hold-to-earn” products illegal and push the industry toward active, compliant ways to generate returns. “What this effectively does is shift the industry from a hold-to-earn market to a use-to-earn market,” Vollono told CoinDesk. “You’re going to need compliant yield strategies to generate rewards on what would otherwise be idle capital.” Where the bill stands now - The Clarity Act has cleared the Senate Banking Committee and is expected to move to the full Senate, where it will be merged with a Senate Agriculture Committee version before reconciliation with the House. Optimistic timelines put a full Senate vote as early as July. - If passed, regulators would have roughly 12 months to implement the new framework. Why it matters Passage of the Clarity Act is widely seen as a potential inflection point for U.S. crypto markets because it would create the first comprehensive domestic regulatory framework for digital assets — clarifying whether tokens fall under SEC or CFTC jurisdiction and setting rules for exchanges, brokers, stablecoin issuers and DeFi platforms. Many analysts and industry insiders argue that such clarity is a prerequisite for large-scale institutional participation. “Once these issues are resolved, it allows capital at scale to enter the market,” Vollono said, pointing to institutional demand that has been held back by legal ambiguity. The rise of “yield-as-a-service” Vollono predicts that Section 404 will catalyze a new layer of infrastructure providers focused on compliant yield generation. These firms would act as intermediaries that orchestrate regulated capital to produce returns without simply paying users for holding tokens. He expects artificial intelligence to play a major role as an orchestration layer, routing funds across regulated DeFi rails, lending markets, collateral management systems and treasury services to generate compliant yield. Potential beneficiaries include: - DeFi infrastructure providers and vault curators - Collateral management platforms - Automated treasury and rewards systems - Lending markets and custody solutions “The underlying tech stack already exists — smart contracts, oracles, DeFi rails and API-based infrastructure,” Vollono said. “This creates a whole new world.” Banks, deposit flight and incumbents The bill has exposed tensions between the banking sector and crypto firms, particularly around stablecoins and the risk of deposit migration. Vollono argues fears of widespread deposit flight are likely overstated but acknowledges the traditional fractional-reserve model could face pressure if deposits move into tokenized dollars or blockchain yield products. Still, he sees opportunity for incumbents: banks could adapt by collateralizing reserves, issuing their own stablecoins and offering compliant yield under the Clarity framework. “Smart incumbents are going to compete,” he said. “Banks don’t necessarily have to give up market share.” STBL’s angle: stablecoin 2.0 STBL positions itself as “stablecoin 2.0,” building infrastructure for minting real-world-asset-backed stablecoins that let users retain economics generated by reserve assets rather than central issuers capturing all the yield. The company’s platform is designed to support compliant yield management while routing rewards to users who contribute value to the ecosystem. For Vollono, the Clarity Act could speed that transition from centralized stablecoin issuance to more distributed, compliant models. “I’ll tell you what the Act makes clear: money-as-a-service has arrived,” he said. Bottom line If Section 404 survives the legislative process, the law could reshape how crypto returns are structured — outlawing passive, hold-to-earn payouts and opening an addressable market for regulated, automated yield services. That change would carry implications across DeFi, institutional adoption and the business models of both crypto-native firms and legacy banks. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news