The ban on stablecoins with yields in the Clarity Act puts the U.S. dollar at a disadvantage compared to China's digital yuan. This view was expressed by 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 are blocking this opportunity to avoid competition with stablecoin issuers. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China has allowed commercial banks to pay interest on deposits in digital yuan (CBDC) since January.

"Banks do not want competition from stablecoin issuers, so they block the opportunity to earn income. At the same time, the Chinese are offering yields. Which system do you think developing countries will choose — the one with yield or without?" Scaramucci wrote.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong shares a similar perspective. 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 interest payments) benefit ordinary people, just like local lending. We must allow the market to utilize both tools," he emphasized.

Issues with the Clarity Act

Previously, Armstrong opposed the current version of the Clarity Act. The bill prohibits digital asset providers from paying users income 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 that ensure the network's functionality.

The Coinbase head believes the updated version of the initiative is "significantly worse than the current situation." He argues that the bill effectively bans tokenized stocks, limits the DeFi sector, infringes on user rights, and weakens the role of the CFTC.

"We would prefer to have no law at all than this one. We hope we can all come to a better solution," he noted.

It is worth noting that analysts at JPMorgan identified the Clarity Act as one of the key drivers of the crypto industry in 2026.