Circle stock jumps 19.9% after Clarity Act compromise

Circle shares rose 19.89% to $119.53 on Monday after senators finalized a compromise on language in the Clarity Act governing stablecoin yields. The development helped push higher several crypto-related stocks even as major U.S. indices fell.

Coinbase Global closed up 6.14% at $202.99, Bitgo gained 10.26% to $11.50, SOL Strategies rose 17.83%, and Robinhood added 3.92%. Circle's stock has increased 32.4% over the past month and is up 50.7% year-to-date. Bitcoin traded around $80,020, up about 2.12% as of 9:20 p.m. ET Monday. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.13% and the S&P 500 slipped 0.41%, with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East cited as a drag on broader markets.

Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) finalized the compromise on Friday to resolve a months-long dispute over whether and how stablecoin issuers can offer yields to U.S. customers. The provision bars “covered parties” from paying any form of interest or yield to U.S. customers solely for holding stablecoins, or in any manner “economically or functionally equivalent to the payment of interest or yield on an interest-bearing bank deposit.”

Banking trade groups criticized the language as insufficient, arguing it “falls short” of fully prohibiting yield payments and urging Congress to tighten the text. The groups warned that incentives resembling interest could draw deposits away from traditional banks.

Sen. Tillis defended the revised language, calling it a “substantially improved, consensus-based product.” He posted on X that the compromise “prohibits stablecoin rewards from resembling interest on bank deposits, our core concern over deposit flight.”

Stablecoins are digital tokens usually pegged to a fiat currency and widely used for trading, payments and transfers in the crypto ecosystem. The dispute focuses on whether payment arrangements that reward customers for holding stablecoins amount to interest on a bank deposit, an outcome regulators and banks say could weaken the traditional deposit base.

Lawmakers have been negotiating a broader stablecoin framework expected in 2025. Industry participants have pushed for rules that allow platforms to offer rewards or programs that stop short of outright interest, while banking groups have pressed for stricter limits to protect bank deposits. Market participants said the compromise reduced legislative uncertainty for crypto firms, a factor that contributed to the rally in crypto stocks. Lawmakers and industry groups continue to negotiate final statutory language, and further revisions are possible as the bill moves through Congress.