When stablecoins stop generating interest: 7 DeFi protocols benefiting from the CLARITY Act

Original Author: Tindorr

Original Translation: Chopper, Foresight News

Everyone in the market is watching the regulatory jurisdiction battle between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), debating which altcoins qualify as "digital commodities." This is merely a surface-level interpretation that has already been priced into the market.

The true profit logic of the CLARITY Act lies elsewhere: the bill quietly delineates the legal boundaries of DeFi operations that institutions can conduct; simultaneously, under strong lobbying from banks, it directly shuts down the mainstream channel for ordinary users to passively earn yields from idle stablecoins.

This will not only trigger a new wave of institutional capital entering DeFi but will also force massive capital flows into specific protocols that have already established compliant frameworks.

Below are the 7 main beneficiary projects I have identified.

30-Second Read: The CLARITY Act

The bill passed the House of Representatives in July 2025 (294 votes in favor, 134 against); it entered the Senate Banking Committee review stage on May 14, 2026 (Editor's note: On May 14, the CLARITY Act was passed by the Senate Banking Committee).

The core content of CLARITY can be summarized in two sentences:

• Clarifies the regulatory division between the SEC and CFTC, placing digital commodities under CFTC jurisdiction;
• Establishes safe harbor rules for DeFi protocols, node validators, and open-source developers, preventing them from being simply classified as money transmitters or brokers.

The most important part of this article is Section 404 concerning stablecoin yields: The GENIUS Act, which took effect in the US last year, prohibits stablecoin issuers from directly paying interest to users. However, exchanges, DeFi platforms, and intermediaries could previously still offer yield-generating products on users' idle funds.

Why the CLARITY Act's Impact Far Exceeds DeFi Legalization

Once the CLARITY Act is formally enacted, it will immediately trigger two major shifts:

• Institutional capital clears entry barriers. BlackRock, Apollo, Deutsche Bank, pension funds, corporate treasuries, etc., have been on the sidelines. Compliance teams couldn't assess whether related assets were securities, preventing large-scale allocations. With the CFTC's clear jurisdiction and safe harbor for DeFi, institutions can finally enter the market in a big way.
• Yield-seeking funds will exit idle stablecoin products. The model of earning roughly 5% annualized yield just by holding USDC on exchanges will cease to exist. Hundreds of billions in capital seeking stable returns must find new allocation outlets.

Consequently, two massive capital flows (institutional investors finally entering + retail investors seeking yields) will converge on the same type of target: compliant products with real business scenarios and structured yields.

The following protocols are tailor-made for this new regulatory landscape.

Pendle: The Underlying Yield Infrastructure Layer

Pendle is the DeFi protocol best suited to the CLARITY Act. It can split any yield-bearing asset into a Principal Token (PT) and a Yield Token (YT): holding PT locks in a fixed annualized yield; holding YT allows betting on yield fluctuations. This entire process involves active trading and providing liquidity, not simply passively holding assets for interest.

Before the Act: Institutions recognized its product mechanism but couldn't participate on a large scale due to regulatory ambiguity. Tokenized Real World Assets (RWA) remained in pilot or offshore phases. The compliance classification of PT/YT tokens as securities was unclear.

After the Act: PT/YT trading is clearly categorized under CFTC commodity derivatives regulation. The ban on passive stablecoin yields forces massive capital into actively traded yield products like these. Major asset managers like BlackRock can custody tokenized RWA and private credit assets, using Pendle to offer clients on-chain fixed-income exposure.

Example: Apollo's credit fund ACRED, tokenized via Securitize and wrapped by the Ember protocol into eACRED, launched on Pendle in April 2026. Holding PT-eACRED provides a one-click allocation to Apollo's entire credit portfolio, including direct corporate lending, asset-backed lending, investment-grade credit, distressed credit, and structured credit. All products are composable and operate entirely on-chain.

Once the CLARITY Act is enacted, this model will become the standard template for US institutional capital entry, and Pendle will become the core yield infrastructure for incremental institutional liquidity.

Key metrics to watch: Total Value Locked (TVL) in RWA pools, progress in partnerships with compliant custodians, and issuance scale of PT for tokenized assets.

Morpho: The On-Chain Prime Broker

Morpho specializes in permissionless lending markets with customizable risk parameters.

Before the Act: Using tokenized RWA as lending collateral risked being deemed an unregistered derivative. A lack of capital pools meeting institutional risk standards with fiduciary qualifications existed. Liquidation and oracle risks deterred large capital.

After the Act: Strategy firms like Gauntlet and Steakhouse can establish compliant permissioned pools, customizing loan-to-value ratios, oracles, position limits, and KYC requirements. Institutions can use stablecoins as collateral to borrow RWA, engage in leverage loop arbitrage, or provide market liquidity, all within the CFTC's clear regulatory framework. Stablecoin capital squeezed out of passive yield markets will continuously flow into Morpho pools to earn compliant yields through active lending activities.

The on-chain prime broker model will officially become operational. Stablecoin capital exiting passive wealth management products will flow into Morpho's liquidity pools, generating compliant returns through active lending activities.

Key metrics to watch: TVL in institutionally managed pools, new RWA collateral types added, and the number of institutional strategy partnerships launched.

Sky (USDS / sUSDS)

Sky (formerly MakerDAO) allows users to deposit USDS to mint sUSDS and earn protocol yields, including stability fees, yields from reserve assets like US Treasuries, and RWA allocation yields. Sky is arguably the DeFi protocol closest to a tokenized money market fund.

The question is: does depositing USDS for sUSDS constitute active business conduct or passive yield-earning restricted by the ban?

Sky has been following a path similar to Ethena, partnering with compliant institutions to build a compliant framework. If regulators adopt a lenient interpretation of "active business exemptions," sUSDS could become one of the largest compliant on-chain savings instruments, inherently offering exposure to RWA assets.

The stablecoin yield ban will directly drive capital from idle USDC towards USDS-based savings products.

Key aspects to watch: Post-enactment rulemaking by the Treasury Department and the CFTC.

Maple Finance: On-Chain Credit Trading Desk

Maple Finance focuses on institutional lending pools. Users deposit stablecoins as lenders, while borrowers (market makers, hedge funds, institutional treasury desks) undergo strict due diligence. Its Syrup pool is open to retail users.

Before the Act: Under-collateralized institutional lending carried the compliance risk of being deemed unregistered securities. Banks and insurance institutions couldn't participate compliantly due to regulatory ambiguity. After early pool defaults, compliance teams generally maintained a wait-and-see approach.

After the Act: Maple formally transforms into a compliant on-chain credit asset issuance platform. Banks and insurance institutions can participate without friction.

Maple already possesses institutional-friendly attributes: the Syrup pool is integrated with Morpho, enabling cross-protocol credit portfolio allocation. Bitwise and Sky had already allocated to Maple strategies before the Act.

The CLARITY Act simply dismantles the regulatory constraints limiting its expansion.

Key metrics to watch: Syrup total pool TVL, progress in borrower diversification, and the launch of new credit strategies for RWA asset originators.

Centrifuge: Native RWA Asset Issuance Layer

If Pendle handles yield splitting and Maple handles credit pools, Centrifuge sits further upstream – at the source of RWA tokenization. Private credit, commercial paper, structured credit tranches, and SME loans can all be wrapped into on-chain tokens, seamlessly integrating with the entire DeFi ecosystem.

Before the Act: Real-world credit tokenization remained experimental. The classification of tokens (security, commodity, or new category) was ambiguous, deterring institutional allocation. Underlying assets lacked federal-level custody and settlement rules. Most pools were limited in scale, often operating through offshore structures.

After the Act: Centrifuge will become the primary on-ramp for RWA tokenization. The regulatory classification of tokenized private credit tranches is clear, allowing compliant custody and use as large-scale institutional lending collateral. Banks and asset managers can participate on-chain in SME finance, invoice discounting, and structured credit without needing offshore structures.

Protocols Leveraging STRC Assets: The Fixed-Income Track

Strategy issued perpetual preferred stock STRC, listed on Nasdaq, with an annualized dividend yield of approximately 11.5%, adjusted monthly to maintain a share price near the $100 par value. Apyx and Saturn Credit are the two main STRC wrapping protocols: Apyx issues apxUSD and apyUSD (total supply exceeding $400 million); Saturn issues USDat and sUSDat. Both have launched PT/YT trading markets on Pendle.

Before the Act: The entire business pipeline was formed, but compliant US funds couldn't custody, restructure, or repackage these wrapped assets on a large scale.

After the Act: PT trading falls under CFTC commodity regulation; DeFi safe harbor ensures protocol compliance. US compliant large funds can batch purchase PT tokens from Apyx and Saturn, locking in fixed yields for approximately 12 months, then package them as fixed-income wealth management products for retail investors through traditional brokerage channels.

The complete flow: Strategy issues STRC → Apyx/Saturn wrap the dividend yield on-chain → Pendle splits it into PT (principal) and YT (yield) tokens → US compliant funds buy PT in bulk to lock in fixed returns → Repackaged as "Bitcoin-linked fixed income products (approx. 12% annualized)" for retail investors.

Key metrics to watch: TVL of related PT tokens, whether US compliant funds launch STRC-linked fixed-income products, and monthly STRC dividend adjustments.

The Common Logic of the Seven Protocols

Stepping back reveals a unified pattern across the seven protocols:

• These protocols proactively built KYC compliance and business-scenario-oriented architectures before regulatory pressure forced them to;
• The CFTC jurisdiction delineation plus DeFi safe harbor completely eliminates the institutions' biggest fear: securities classification risk;
• The stablecoin passive yield ban channels massive capital into these structured, real-business, RWA-backed products;
• Institutions will become natural facilitators, overlaying their existing custody and prime brokerage infrastructure onto these DeFi protocols seamlessly.

Points to Consider

• The Act is not yet final. It has only passed committee review and still needs to go through the House-Senate conference, a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, text reconciliation between chambers, and the President's signature. Prediction market Polymarket gives it a 76% probability of passing in 2026. While high, it's not a certainty.
• All protocols carry native DeFi risks, including smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, stablecoin de-pegging, and counterparty credit risk. CLARITY only clarifies regulatory boundaries; it does not eliminate investment risks.
• The "beneficiary upside" premise assumes institutions will enter according to market expectations. While the consensus is strong, actual implementation cycles are often slower than trading prices suggest; institutional onboarding typically takes months of integration.

Conclusion

The CLARITY Act is not just a simple "DeFi legalization" story. That's the surface narrative, already priced into the market.

The true second-order thesis is: When passive stablecoin yields are banned, where will the massive pool of yield-seeking capital flow? Which protocols and tracks are already compliant and operationally ready to absorb incremental institutional capital without requiring last-minute architectural changes? This does not guarantee price appreciation for these protocols' tokens; tokenomics still require independent analysis.