Odaily Planet Daily News: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a financial report conference call last Thursday that the company will continue to issue USDC holding rewards to users, and called the program an important differentiating advantage to attract users.
Although the GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or returns, Armstrong clarified: "We are not the issuer, and what we pay is not interest, but rewards." Coinbase currently offers US users an annualized yield of 4.1% on USDC deposits.
The bill only targets issuers, such as Circle, the issuer of USDC, and does not prohibit trading platforms from offering incentives. A Senate staff member explained that the bill is intended to prevent stablecoins from being treated as traditional deposit instruments.
PayPal is also promoting a similar strategy, offering 3.7% annualized returns to users holding its stablecoin PYUSD to attract more customers. (Decrypt)