How stablecoin yield restrictions could affect Circle, Coin

Reports that the Clarity Act could ban yield payments on passive stablecoin holdings shook some crypto stocks on Tuesday. Since then, equity analysts have assessed the implications, particularly for Circle Internet (CRCL), the firm behind USDC stablecoin, and crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN).
Under the proposed legislation, analysts expect that firms would still be able to pay rewards or yield on stablecoin activity. As currently understood, this restriction on passive yield could dampen demand for holding stablecoins long term.
Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev actually expects the restriction to boost Coinbase’s (COIN) near-term profitability, noting that about 20% of the exchange’s revenue is currently paid out in rewards. However, eliminating those payments would reduce the incentive to hold USDC on the platform.
For Circle (CRCL), Dolev sees the prohibition as a “headwind to market cap,” though a recent increase in adjusted volumes implies that use cases “are starting to proliferate, which is a positive for the long-term.”
Citi analyst Peter Christiansen believes real-world applications will remain unaffected. “We also do not believe this development thwarts real-world use cases for stablecoins, including cross-border payments or agentic commerce,” he wrote. “Time will tell, but the concern for secondary market liquidity (on/off ramps) could temper payments adoption, placing increasing importance on the emergence of liquidity hubs, including CPN (Circle Payments Network).”
Morgan Stanley analyst James E. Faucette also ties long-term value to emerging applications. “We believe the core potential of Circle lies in future use cases, which are nascent in monetization, such as usage of stablecoins by AI agents, use cases in collateral management/tokenized trading, and cross-border payments,” he wrote.
Faucette outlined both sides of the equation for Circle (CRCL). On the positive side, the company would retain more interest income from reserves, face lower chances of price wars over stablecoin yield, and see reduced yield-chasing behavior. On the negative side, the prohibition creates a disincentive for holding USDC long term—currently Circle’s primary revenue driver. It also weakens stablecoin’s competitive position against tokenized money market funds and could hurt industry growth and institutional demand.
Darren Wang, founder and CEO of OwlTing Group, the operating brand of OBOOK Holdings (OWLS), views the restriction as an incentive to increase stablecoin usage rather than a setback.More people are starting to recognize that a stablecoin’s long-term value does not come from functioning like a passive savings product. It comes from velocity and real-world usage,” he said, adding that these proposals appear aimed more at passive holding structures than at incentives tied to actual network activity like payments, settlement, and cross-border transactions. “I don’t view this regulatory shift as a setback. Clearer guardrails are often what enable deeper institutional trust.”
Not everyone shares that optimism. Ryne Saxe, co-founder and CEO of Eco, a stablecoin liquidity layer, sees the proposed legislation as banks protecting their market share. “Drafters and banking industry lobbyists will chalk this up to ‘competitive fairness.’ But let’s call it what it is: protectionism against the biggest competitive threat they’ve ever faced,” he said, suggesting that creating a custom bank charter process atop GENIUS would have been a better approach.
Needham analyst John Todaro isn’t surprised by the development. “This recent language iteration has been considered as a potential base case for Clarity for some time,” he said regarding his discussions with impacted companies.
Circle (CRCL) stock gained 1.4% in late Wednesday trading after a 20% slide on Tuesday. Coinbase (COIN) slipped 0.2% in late Wednesday trading after falling 9.8% in the previous session. OBOOK Holdings (OWLS) climbed 3.5%, erasing a 3.7% drop on Tuesday.

所有跟帖： 

• 如果没有yield，影响会挺大的。但愿不会这样 -三心三意- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 10:42:31

• 肯定呀，银行不fight，存款业务就完蛋 -lionhill- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:31:05

• 银行和币圈分赃不均。银行想拿大头。币圈基本已经投降了 -越王剑- ♂ (58 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 10:45:07

• 好像两边已经打了很久了？ -三心三意- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 10:45:44

• Yes. They fight for a year now. -越王剑- ♂ (48 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:01:14

• 前一段还有人质疑我为什卖cc，叛变革命，现在我这些call包括leap都大赢了 -cnrhm2017- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:04:17

• Michael Saylor and Tom Lee这些币圈的白手套太贪啦 -越王剑- ♂ (132 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:14:05

• Saylor 在比特币上的 breakeven price 是多少？ -三心三意- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:17:15

• 76000 左右 -越王剑- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:26:15

• 难怪很难冲上76K -三心三意- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:29:12

• 我不相信Tom Lee，从来没有，但我信salor -cnrhm2017- ♂ (0 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:50:18

• $92附近好像有人托着，先进点儿再说，下周如果大跌再多加点儿，不会是： -穆丹之乡- ♂ (57 bytes) () 03/27/2026 postreply 11:31:45