Tuongvy Le, general counsel of Veda Labs, said in a Jan. 24 opinion column that ‘the fight over yield-bearing stablecoins isn’t really about stablecoins. It is about deposits, and about who gets paid on them,’ as Congress continues to negotiate market structure legislation involving stablecoin provisions amid ongoing tensions between traditional banks and the cryptocurrency sector.
The discussion comes at a time when the global stablecoin market capitalization reached $316 billion by March 2026, with transaction volumes for major stablecoins exceeding $33 trillion in 2025. This growth has intensified debates over competition with traditional bank deposit products, according to industry trackers.
Le said, ‘We are moving toward a world in which balances are expected to earn by default, not as a special feature reserved for sophisticated investors. Yield is becoming passive rather than opt-in. And increasingly, consumers expect to capture more of the returns generated by their own capital rather than have them absorbed upstream by intermediaries.’ According to Le’s column published by CoinDesk, the piece was released during active congressional negotiations on crypto market structure legislation that includes provisions governing yield payments on stablecoins. The column responds directly to the current legislative impasse between banking interests and cryptocurrency advocates.
U.S. transactional deposits in the commercial banking system totaled approximately $6.6 trillion, according to Treasury Department analysis. Stablecoins now represent a growing alternative for consumer balances as digital infrastructure makes yield more accessible. The shift aligns with broader trends toward programmable money and transparent capital allocation.
The GENIUS Act established an initial federal framework for payment stablecoins in 2025 while leaving key yield-related questions unresolved for further legislative action. Banks have argued that unrestricted yield on stablecoins could reduce deposit bases and impact lending. The legislation underscores the transition from opaque bank balance-sheet models toward more direct consumer participation in returns, according to Congressional Research Service analysis.
Le concluded that ‘the stablecoin yield debate is best understood not as a decision about crypto, but as a decision about the future of deposits.’ She serves as general counsel of Veda Labs, a decentralized finance infrastructure platform focused on programmable money and institutional access. She previously served as a senior attorney in the Enforcement Division and Chief Counsel for Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and has held regulatory leadership positions at Bain Capital Crypto.
