Yield-bearing stablecoins surge as Washington fights over yield

Yield-bearing stablecoins are growing faster than the broader market as US lawmakers remain divided over how crypto yield should be regulated.

Yield-bearing stablecoins are growing faster than the broader stablecoin market, according to Messari, as Washington remains divided over how crypto-linked yield should be treated under US law.

Yield-bearing stablecoins have outpaced the growth of the broader stablecoin market 15-fold over the past six months, according to a Messari research report published on Thursday.

The increase was driven by a 198% rise in the market cap of Circle’s USYC (USYC), a 169% increase in Paxos’ Global Dollar (USDG), a 114% rise in the value of the Tron DAO-linked Decentralized USD (USDD), and a 91% rise in Ondo Finance’s Ondo US Dollar Yield (USDY). The overall stablecoin market capitalization rose 9%.

Messari said the largest yield-bearing stablecoins are starting to function more akin to money market funds or bank deposits. “The winners don’t do payments,” Messari said, adding that the largest issuers focus their offer on a single asset, rather than payment-related use cases. 

Yield-bearing stablecoins started outpacing the growth of the stablecoin supply in mid October 2025, Messari said. The trend suggests rising demand for blockchain-based US dollar products that offer yield without direct exposure to broader crypto volatility.

Yield stablecoins are currently worth a cumulative $22.7 billion, after their market capitalization rose 11% over the past 30 days, according to Stablewatch data.

While this marks a two-fold increase overthe $11 billion market capitalization reached in May 2025, the $22.7 billion value of yield-bearing stablecoins only accounts for about 7.4% of the total $303 billion stablecoin market capitalization, up from 4.5% in May last year.

Among the largest yield-bearing stablecoins by value are Sky’s (sUSDS), Ethena’s (sUSDe) and Maple’s Syrup USDC, according to DefiLlama.

In terms of yield, Maple’s Syrup USDC led this week with a 4.54% annual percentage yield, followed by Maple USDT with a 4.17% APY, Sky Lending’s SUSDS with a $3.75% APY in third place and Ethena’s USDe with 3.49% APY, according to Messari.

Related: Stablecoin payments startup Kast raises $80M at $600M valuation: Report

Despite the growing demand, US lawmakers remain at odds over the market structure bill’s provisions related to yield-bearing stablecoins.

On Thursday, US Senator Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said he doesn’t expect the chamber to move forward with the crypto market structure bill before April.

Yield-bearing stablecoins have become a key sticking point in the debate, with banking groups warning they could create a loophole that pulls deposits away from traditional banks.

The Senate Banking Committee postponed its markup in mid-January as bipartisan negotiations continued, drawing criticism from US President Donald Trump for delaying the bill.

Related: Stablecoin inflows rebound to $1.7B as Washington battles over yield rules

The Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, is designed to provide a clear regulatory framework for digital assets. The House of Representatives passed the measure on July 17, 2025, and it has been under debate in the Senate since.

The US’s federal stablecoin framework, the GENIUS Act, prohibits issuers from paying interest or yield for holding a payment stablecoin, but still allows third-party platforms to offer reward programs tied to stablecoin holdings. The act was signed into law on July 18, 2025.

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Source: CoinTelegraph