Sophia Bennett
Crypto Analyst
The Clarity Act might do something nobody expected,,completely rewire how people earn yield on their crypto.
According to Joe Vollono, Chief Commercial Officer at stablecoin infrastructure firm STBL, the Clarity Act's biggest outcome may be the creation of an entirely new market for "yield‑as‑a-service."
This isn't a minor regulatory tweak. It's a structural shift that could reshape the entire crypto earnings model from the ground up.
The Rule That Changes Everything
At the centre of the debate is Section 404 of the proposed legislation, which would prohibit Digital Asset Service Providers and their affiliates from offering yield solely as a function of holding a digital asset.
In plain terms, the simple "hold your crypto and earn" model that millions of users rely on today could be outlawed.
"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."
AI Steps Into the Gap
So if passive yield is out, what fills the void? According to Vollono, the answer is AI‑powered infrastructure.
He expects many of those services to be powered by artificial intelligence acting as an orchestration layer for regulated capital flows. Among the potential beneficiaries are DeFi infrastructure providers, vault curators, collateral management platforms, automated treasury services, lending markets, and rewards systems.
"All of this can be automated by AI in a regulated market," he said.
The underlying technology already exists. Vollono pointed to smart contracts, oracles, DeFi rails, and API‑based infrastructure that could be adapted to fit within a regulated framework. "This creates a whole new world," he said.
The Institutional Floodgates
The Clarity Act matters beyond just yield products. Vollono argued that regulatory clarity could finally unlock large‑scale institutional participation in crypto markets. "Once these issues are resolved, it allows capital at scale to enter the market," he said. "That's the real catalyst here."
Passage of the Clarity Act is widely viewed as a potential inflection point because it would establish the first comprehensive U.S. regulatory framework for digital assets, ending years of uncertainty over whether tokens fall under SEC or CFTC jurisdiction.
Banks: Threat or Opportunity?
Fortis The debate has also exposed tensions between traditional banks and the crypto industry, particularly around deposit migration. "Banks are worried about deposit flight, but I think that concern is largely overstated," Vollono said.
His view is that smart banks won't sit on the sidelines. He suggested banks could eventually collateralise reserves to issue their own stablecoins and generate compliant yield under the Clarity framework, opening the door to entirely new business models. "Smart incumbents are going to compete," he said.
Stablecoin 2.0
STBL describes itself as "stablecoin 2.0," arguing for a shift away from the traditional centralised issuer model. Its infrastructure allows users to mint real‑world‑asset‑backed stablecoins while retaining the economics generated by the underlying reserves. "Users that provide value into the ecosystem should participate in the economics," Vollono said.
The Clarity Act has already cleared the Senate Banking Committee, with an optimistic timeline pointing to a full vote as early as July.
If it passes, the crypto industry won't just be regulated differently. It'll earn differently too.