The Clarity Act's biggest outcome may be the creation of a new market for 'yield-as-a-service,' according to Joe Vollono, chief commercial officer at stablecoin infrastructure firm STBL.
At the center of the debate is Section 404, which would prohibit Digital Asset Service Providers from offering yield solely as a function of holding a digital asset. This could push the market away from passive products and toward active, compliant yield-generation strategies.
“What this effectively does is shift the industry from a hold-to-earn market to a use-to-earn market,” Vollono said. “You’re going to need compliant yield strategies to generate rewards on what would otherwise be idle capital.”
The Clarity Act has cleared the Senate Banking Committee and is expected for a full vote as early as July. Regulators would then have roughly 12 months to implement the framework.
Vollono, a former Morgan Stanley executive, said regulatory clarity could finally unlock large-scale institutional participation. “That’s the real catalyst here,” he added.
The legislation would create clearer rules for exchanges, brokers, stablecoin issuers and DeFi platforms. Vollono expects an emergence of a middle layer of infrastructure providers focused on compliant yield generation, many powered by AI.
He said banks are worried about deposit flight but that is largely overstated. “Smart incumbents are going to compete,” Vollono said, suggesting banks could collateralize reserves to issue stablecoins under the Clarity framework.
STBL calls itself 'stablecoin 2.0' - building infrastructure that allows users to mint real-world-asset-backed stablecoins while retaining the economics from reserves. Vollono concluded: 'Money-as-a-service has arrived.'