The CLARITY Act stablecoin yield compromise text has finally been released by Senators Tillis and Alsobrooks.

Section 404, six pages, eleven subsections and the yield fight has moved up a layer.

Three things to know immediately. The Statutory map:

One — Section 404 does not reach Circle. “Covered party” explicitly excludes permitted payment stablecoin issuers. The CLARITY Act targets Coinbase. The GENIUS Act targets Circle. Two statutes. Two levels. One vertical stack. §404(k)(1) confirms it — nothing here modifies the GENIUS Act issuer prohibition.

Two — Staking rewards are explicitly listed as permissible. §404(c)(3)(A)(iii) includes governance, validation, staking, loyalty, and subscription programs in the non-exhaustive list of bona fide activities. The calculation safe harbor in §404(c)(3)(B) confirms permissible rewards can still be calculated by balance, duration, and tenure.

Three — The rulemaking is SEC + CFTC + Treasury jointly. Three agencies. One year. Three undefined terms — “economically or functionally equivalent,” “bona fide activities,” “significant influence.” The fight documented in Part III has moved levels and gained two more regulators.

The full analytical breakdown — complete statutory map, interaction with GENIUS Act §4(a)(11), what the three undefined terms mean for every platform structuring rewards today — is coming.

Watch for it.

→ [Part III: Yield: The Fault Line — the analysis that makes this legible]