The prohibition on “stablecoins” offering yields in the Clarity Act places the US dollar at a disadvantage compared to China’s digital yuan, according to Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital.
The whole system is broken: The Banks do not want the competition from the stable coin issuers so they’re blocking the yield in the meantime the Chinese are issuing yield so what do you think the emerging countries will choose as a rail system the one with or without yield?
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 16, 2026
“The system is broken,” the expert commented.
According to him, financial institutions block such opportunities to avoid competition with stablecoin issuers. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China has allowed commercial banks to pay interest on digital yuan deposits (CBDC) since January.
“Banks do not want competition from stablecoin issuers, so they block the possibility of earning yields. At the same time, the Chinese offer yields. What do you think emerging countries will choose—a system with or without yield?” Scaramucci wrote.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shares a similar view. He previously warned that the ban on yields would make American stablecoins less competitive in currency markets.
China has decided to pay interest on their own stablecoin, because it benefits ordinary people, and they recognize it as a competitive advantage.
I worry we are missing the forest through the trees in the U.S. Rewards on stablecoins will not change lending one bit — but it does… https://t.co/nrpa8eSKUs
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) January 7, 2026
“Rewards (and even paying interest) benefit ordinary people, as does local lending. We should allow the market to use both tools,” he emphasized.
The Clarity Act Issue
Earlier, Armstrong opposed the current version of the Clarity Act. The bill prohibits digital asset providers from paying users yields solely for holding stablecoins.
The document allows rewards only for active participation in the ecosystem. Exceptions are made for income from:
- providing liquidity;
- participating in protocol governance;
- staking;
- other actions ensuring network functionality.
The head of Coinbase considers the updated version of the initiative “significantly worse than the current state of affairs.” According to him, the bill effectively bans tokenized stocks, restricts the DeFi sector, infringes on user rights, and weakens the role of the CFTC.
“We would prefer no law at all to this one. We hope we can all come to a better solution,” he noted.
Analysts at JPMorgan have identified the Clarity Act as one of the key drivers of the crypto industry in 2026.
