Circle Shares Fall 20% on Stablecoin Yield Bill Concerns

Shares of Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, plunged nearly 20 percent on March 24, erasing much of a recent rally amid investor concerns over proposed U.S. legislation that would restrict yield offerings on stablecoin holdings. The stock, trading under the ticker CRCL on the New York Stock Exchange, fell from an intraday high near 127 dollars to close around 103 dollars, marking one of its steepest single-day declines since going public earlier this year. Coinbase Global, a key distribution partner for USDC, saw its shares drop about 9 percent in the same session, reflecting broader unease in the cryptocurrency sector.

The catalyst was a revised draft of the Clarity Act, a bipartisan Senate bill aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets and stablecoins. Authored by Senators Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat from Maryland, and Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, the proposal would prohibit platforms, exchanges, brokers, and their affiliates from offering yield directly or indirectly on stablecoin balances if such rewards resemble bank deposits or function economically like interest payments. The restrictions target passive...