Anthony Scaramucci warned that a proposed ban on yield-bearing dollar stablecoins in the CLARITY Act would weaken the dollar’s global position by removing a key incentive for adoption. He argued the restriction would hand an advantage to rival systems after the People’s Bank of China allowed interest on the digital yuan earlier this month.
Scaramucci framed the dispute as a competition over infrastructure and incentives, describing stablecoins as “global financial plumbing” and “geopolitical infrastructure.” He underscored the adoption stakes by asking which rail emerging markets would choose when one offers yield and the other does not.
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
What the CLARITY Act Provision Would Do
Under the version of the CLARITY Act Scaramucci cited, exchanges and service providers would be prohibited from offering interest or reward programs on dollar-backed stablecoins. Proponents characterized the restriction as a financial-stability safeguard, while Scaramucci described it as a structural disadvantage for dollar-denominated digital assets.
The argument drew support from parts of the crypto industry, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Armstrong warned that barring stablecoin yields would make dollar-based digital rails less competitive against yield-bearing alternatives such as the digital yuan, even if yields do not materially change traditional bank lending models.
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
Banking Concerns and the Deposit Migration Debate
Bank executives advanced the opposite risk narrative, emphasizing potential deposit migration if stablecoins can pay yield. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and other banking leaders argued that yield-bearing stablecoins could pull deposits out of the banking system and reduce lending capacity.
Banks also highlighted a structural distinction between stablecoin reserves and traditional deposits to justify limiting interest payments. They stressed that stablecoin reserves are often not transformed into longer-term lending assets in the way deposits typically support bank lending.
Scaramucci and several industry figures portrayed the regulatory push as aligned with incumbent banking interests, arguing it would constrain crypto firms’ customer-acquisition tools and limit passive income options for retail holders. They framed the decision as a single policy trade-off between preserving current banking models and prioritizing broader digital-dollar adoption.