With the successful passage of the US Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) by the Senate Banking Committee, the focus of the cryptocurrency market is shifting from the surface level "regulatory jurisdiction dispute" to the true logic of fund restructuring behind it. Most people are watching the definition of "digital goods" by the SEC and CFTC, but they overlook the core impact of the bill: while delineating DeFi compliance business boundaries for institutions, under the lobbying and promotion of banks, it directly blocks the mainstream path for ordinary users to passively earn income from idle stablecoins.

This change will give rise to two core trends: institutional funds that have been waiting for a long time have finally cleared compliance barriers and are expected to flood into DeFi on a large scale; The massive profit seeking funds squeezed out by the passive wealth management market will also urgently seek new income outlets. The confluence of two streams of funds will precisely flow towards DeFi protocols that have pre laid out compliant architectures and practical business scenarios. The following seven projects are the most potential beneficiaries of this regulatory dividend wave, and their common logic is that they can undertake dual incremental funds from institutions and individual investors without the need for temporary transformation.

Understand CLARITY first: 30 seconds to clarify the core and impact of the bill

The progress of the CLARITY bill is clear and visible: it will be passed in the House of Representatives with a high support rating of 294 in favor and 134 against in July 2025; On May 14, 2026, the Senate Banking Committee officially voted to pass the bill, with only the process of merging the versions of the House and Senate, a threshold vote of 60 votes in the Senate, text coordination, and presidential signature remaining. It is predicted that Polymarket has a 76% probability of its implementation by 2026.

The core content of the bill can be summarized into two points: firstly, clarifying the regulatory decentralization between the SEC and CFTC, placing digital commodities under the jurisdiction of CFTC, and ending the long-standing regulatory ambiguity; The second is to establish "safe harbor" rules for DeFi protocols, node validators, and open source developers, no longer simply recognizing them as currency transfer institutions or brokers, and legally legitimizing DeFi.

The most influential provision is Section 404 of the bill regarding the yield of stablecoins: the GENIUS Act, which previously came into effect in the United States, only prohibited stablecoin issuers from directly paying interest to users, but intermediaries such as trading platforms and DeFi platforms could still distribute wealth management returns to users' idle funds; The CLARITY bill will completely plug this "loophole", and the passive income model of earning 5% annualized profits by storing USDC in the past will become history. Billions of stable funds urgently need to be reallocated.

This is also the core of the impact of the bill that goes far beyond "DeFi legalization": it is not a simple industry standard, but a "catalyst" that forces funds to restructure, and protocols that adapt to regulatory requirements in advance and have structured revenue capabilities will become the biggest winners.

7 Major Benefits of DeFi Protocols: Accurately Undertaking Regulatory Dividends, Each Occupying the Core of the Track

These 7 protocols did not benefit by chance. They all laid out KYC compliance and business scenario based architectures in advance of regulatory pressure, perfectly aligning with the regulatory orientation of the CLARITY Act, and covering core tracks such as DeFi revenue, lending, and RWA tokenization, forming a complete compliance ecosystem loop.

1. Pendle: Bottom level revenue infrastructure, core carrier for institutional capital entry

Pendle is the DeFi protocol with the highest compatibility with the CLARITY Act, and its core advantage lies in splitting all assets with profit attributes into principal tokens (PT) and profit tokens (YT): holding PT can lock in fixed annualized returns, holding YT can bet on the rise and fall of returns, and the entire process is an active trading and liquidity providing business behavior, perfectly avoiding the ban on "passive interest taking".

Before the implementation of the bill, although institutions recognized its product mechanism, they were unable to participate on a large scale due to regulatory ambiguity; Tokenized real assets (RWA) can only remain in the pilot or offshore packaging stage. After the implementation of the bill, PT/YT trading will be clearly classified under the supervision of CFTC commodity derivatives. Large asset management institutions such as BlackRock can provide customers with on chain fixed income exposure through Pendle custody of tokenized RWA and private credit assets.

As a typical case can be seen, Apollo Credit Fund ACRED has been tokenized through Securitize and encapsulated as eACRED using Ember protocol. Pendle was launched in April 2026, and users holding PT eACRED can easily configure Apollo's full range of credit assets with just one click. After the implementation of the CLARITY Act, this model will become the standard template for the entry of US institutional funds, and Pendle will also become the core revenue infrastructure for incremental institutional liquidity.

Worth noting: RWA asset pool lock up volume, progress of cooperation with compliant custody institutions, and scale of token asset PT issuance.

2. Morpho: On chain main broker, the main force undertaking idle stablecoin funds

Morpho focuses on a permissionless lending market, with its core feature being support for custom risk control parameters that perfectly adapt to the risk control needs of institutional funds. Before the implementation of the bill, the use of tokenized RWA as collateral for lending carries the risk of being identified as unregistered derivatives, and there is a lack of a trustee fund pool that meets institutional standards, making it difficult for large funds to deploy recklessly.

After the implementation of the bill, strategic institutions such as Gauntlet and Steakhouse can set up compliant licensed fund pools on Morpho, customize loan collateral ratios, oracle machines, position limits, and KYC access; Institutions can use stablecoins as collateral to borrow real assets, leverage arbitrage, and provide market liquidity, all of which operate within the clear regulatory framework of the CFTC.

The massive amount of stablecoin funds squeezed out by the passive wealth management market will continue to flow into the Morpho fund pool, earning compliant returns through active lending business, and the on chain main broker model will officially enter the stage of large-scale operation.

Worth noting: the amount of locked positions in the fund pool managed by institutional strategists, the addition of RWA collateral categories, and the number of institutional cooperation strategies launched.

3. Sky (USDS/s USDS): compliant on chain wealth management target, linked to RWA returns

Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO, has a core model that allows users to deposit USDS to exchange for USDS, earning comprehensive benefits from the agreement, including stable rates, reserve asset US bond returns, and RWA allocation returns. It is considered the closest DeFi product to a tokenized money market fund, with a USDS market value of $2.6 billion.

The core focus is whether the act of depositing USDS to exchange for sUSDS constitutes a "passive lying profit" that is prohibited and restricted. At present, Sky is following the Ethena path and working with compliance agencies to build a compliance framework. If regulators adopt a lenient interpretation of the "active business exemption", sUSDS will become one of the largest compliant on chain wealth management targets, with RWA asset exposure, directly undertaking the transfer of idle USDC funds.

Worth noting: The specific rules formulated by the Ministry of Finance and CFTC after the passage of the bill, especially the definition of "active business exemption".

4. Maple Finance: On chain credit trading platform, compliant export for institutional lending

Maple Finance focuses on institutional lending fund pools, with its core advantage being that borrowers undergo strict due diligence, covering market makers, hedge funds, institutional treasury departments, etc. Its Syrup fund pool is also open to ordinary users for access, and its operating model achieves insufficient collateral lending through an agent mechanism, which already has institutional adaptation attributes.

Before the implementation of the bill, there was a compliance risk of institutions borrowing without sufficient collateral being identified as unissued securities. Banks and insurance institutions were unable to participate in compliance due to unclear regulatory ownership, and early default events occurred in the fund pool. The compliance team generally adopted a wait-and-see attitude. After the implementation of the bill, Maple will officially transform into a compliant on chain credit asset issuance platform, allowing banks and insurance institutions to enter without barriers.

At present, the Syrup fund pool has been integrated into Morpho to achieve cross protocol credit asset portfolio allocation. Institutions such as Bitwise and Sky have also laid out Maple strategies in advance. The CLARITY bill only needs to remove regulatory restrictions to promote its rapid expansion.

Worth paying attention to: the lock up volume of the entire Syrup pool, the progress of institutional borrower diversification, and the launch of new credit strategies for RWA asset initiators.

5. Centrifuge: The native issuance layer of RWA assets, the core entrance to the upstream of the industry chain

If Pendle is responsible for revenue splitting, Maple is responsible for credit fund pool, and Centrifuge is at the forefront of RWA tokenization, it is the core entrance for real assets to access the DeFi ecosystem. Private credit, commercial paper, structured credit stratification, and small and medium-sized enterprise loans can all be encapsulated as on chain tokens through Centrifuge, seamlessly integrating with the entire DeFi ecosystem.

Before the implementation of the bill, the tokenization of real credit assets was only in the experimental stage, with vague token attributes, institutions afraid to lay out, and underlying assets lacking federal level custody and settlement rules. Most fund pools could only operate indirectly through offshore structures. After the implementation of the bill, the regulatory nature of tokenized private credit tiered assets will be clarified, and they can be legally managed and used on a large scale as collateral for institutional lending. Banks and asset management institutions do not need offshore structures to participate in on chain physical financing business.

Worth noting: RWA token issuance scale, progress of cooperation between banks and asset management institutions, and implementation of underlying asset custody rules.

6. Apyx&Saturn Credit: SRTC encapsulation protocol, fixed income track channel

Apyx and Saturn Credit are two mainstream STRC encapsulation agreements, relying on Strategy's Nasdaq listed perpetual preferred stock STRC (with an annualized dividend of approximately 11.5% and monthly interest adjustments to maintain the stock price close to $100 face value), issuing apxUSD, apyUSD (with a total supply of over $400 million), USDat, and sUSDat respectively, and both have been launched on Pendle to open PT/YT trading markets.

Before the implementation of the bill, although the entire business channel had been formed, US compliance funds were unable to manage, restructure, and repackage assets on a large scale. After the implementation of the bill, PT trading will be included in the scope of CFTC commodity supervision, and DeFi safe harbor rules will protect the compliance of the protocol. Large compliant funds in the United States can purchase relevant PT tokens in bulk, lock in fixed income for about 12 months, and then package them into "Bitcoin related fixed income products" for retail investors through traditional brokerage channels (annualized about 12%).

The complete process is clear and traceable: Strategy issues STRC → Apyx/Saturn encapsulates the dividend income chain → Pendle is split into PT and YT tokens → Compliance funds buy PT to lock in returns → packaged as retail purchasable products, forming a complete fixed income loop.

Worth noting: related PT token lock up volume, whether US compliance funds have launched STRC linked fixed income products, and STRC monthly dividend adjustment situation.

Common Logic and Core Risk Warning of the Seven Major Agreements

Common logic: Advance layout, accurately tap into regulatory dividends

From a higher perspective, it can be seen that the benefits of these seven protocols are not accidental, but rather have a unified underlying logic: firstly, they lay out KYC compliance and business scenario based architecture in advance, and can adapt to CLARITY Act requirements without the need for temporary modifications; Secondly, the jurisdiction division of CFTC and DeFi safe harbor rules have completely eliminated the core security qualitative risk of institutions; The third is the ban on passive returns of stablecoins, which directs massive profit seeking funds to such structured, practical business, and RWA backed products; Fourthly, institutions can seamlessly integrate their own hosting and main broker infrastructure onto these DeFi protocols to achieve a win-win situation.

Risk Warning: Rationally view dividends and be alert to potential risks

It should be clarified that the bill has not yet been finally implemented and is currently only being reviewed by the committee. Multiple processes such as breaking through the 60 vote threshold in the Senate are still needed in the future. Although the 76% probability of implementation is high, it is not a certainty. At the same time, all protocols have DeFi native risks, including smart contract vulnerabilities, oracle failures, stablecoin unanchoring, counterparty credit risks, etc. The CLARITY Act only clarifies regulatory boundaries and cannot eliminate the risks of investment itself.

In addition, "protocol benefits" do not necessarily mean "token prices will inevitably rise". Although market consensus is strong, institutional entry often requires several months of adjustment, and the actual implementation cycle may be slower than market pricing. Moreover, token prices need to be analyzed separately based on their economic models and should not blindly follow the trend.

Summary: Regulatory restructuring funds flow, compliant DeFi ushers in golden age

The core value of the CLARITY Act has never been the superficial narrative of "DeFi legalization" - this logic has long been priced by the market, and its true second-order market lies in the reconstruction of funds after the "passive income ban". When billions of stablecoin funds withdraw from the passive wealth management market and institutional funds finally enter the market in compliance, DeFi protocols that have been pre positioned, have compliance capabilities, and practical business scenarios will become the core gathering place for funds.

The above 7 agreements cover core tracks such as RWA tokenization, on chain lending, revenue splitting, and fixed income, forming a complete compliance ecosystem. They will not only inherit the regulatory dividend, but also promote the transformation of the DeFi industry from "wild growth" to "compliant and orderly". For investors, recognizing the core logic of the bill and focusing on agreements with long-term compliance capabilities is the key to seizing this industry turning point opportunity.