In a landmark move for digital finance, the United States has enacted its first-ever rules governing stablecoins, which are crypto tokens pegged to stable assets like the US dollar. This new law, officially titled the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for Uncle Sam Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, was signed by President Donald Trump on July 18, 2025. It represents the first comprehensive crypto legislation passed by Congress, aiming to bring oversight and legitimacy to stablecoins, which until now operated in regulatory grey areas.
Under the GENIUS Act’s framework, stablecoin issuers must play by strict rules designed to safeguard users and the broader financial system.
Only regulated institutions can issue US dollar stablecoins. This means insured depository institutions (banks, credit unions, and their subsidiaries) or other non-bank firms that secure Federal Reserve approval and demonstrate compliance capabilities. In other words, no fly-by-night startups, because issuers must have serious oversight.
Every stablecoin must be backed 1:1 by high-quality liquid assets. Issuers are required to hold an equivalent dollar in reserve (cash, US Treasury bills, repurchase agreements, or other low-risk assets) for each token in circulation. They must also report their reserve holdings and undergo regular audits by accredited accounting firms, ensuring the promised peg isn’t a mere mirage.
All stablecoin issuers fall under “Bank Secrecy Act” obligations, meaning robust anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) programmes are mandatory. This brings stablecoins in line with traditional financial norms, aiming to prevent illicit use and bolster consumer protection.
Opening Door To A Digital Dollar Economy
The GENIUS Act’s passage marks a new era for stablecoins and the broader crypto sector. For the first time, there are clear federal guidelines acknowledging these digital dollars as legitimate financial instruments.
Stablecoins, which maintain a constant value (typically 1:1 with the dollar), have already exploded in use in recent years, primarily as grease in the wheels of crypto trading. Traders use them to hop in and out of volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether. Now, with official rules in place, stablecoins are poised to move from trading desks to everyday wallets.
Experts say this law “could pave the way for [stablecoins] to become an everyday way to make payments and move money” in the real economy. The allure is clear because transactions in stablecoins settle in seconds, 24/7, instead of days.
Sending money via traditional bank networks can take several business days, and even longer for international wires, but a stablecoin payment can zip across the world almost instantly, at any hour.
Fees can be pennies, not the hefty charges typical of cross-border bank transfers. For consumers and businesses, that means faster e-commerce checkouts, cheaper remittances to family overseas, and the ability to transfer funds without banking delays.
No wonder a slate of companies is now exploring how stablecoins might fit into their strategies. Imagine checking out online and opting to pay with a Walmart or Amazon stablecoin, an idea those retail giants have reportedly considered in recent months. Such a token could give customers a seamless digital payment method and potentially power loyalty rewards or other perks.
Walmart and Amazon, among others, see the promise of instant, low-cost payments to improve user experience, though neither has publicly detailed plans yet. On the corporate side, stablecoins could also revolutionise business treasury operations. A multinational could use stablecoins internally to shuffle funds between international subsidiaries in real time, avoiding slow correspondent banking networks. In sum, stablecoins offer the internet’s speed in finance, and the GENIUS Act provides the green light for companies to harness that.
A banner for Bullish, a crypto exchange operator, was displayed on the New York Stock Exchange floor during its IPO in August 2025. Bullish’s public debut amid new US crypto regulations highlights growing mainstream confidence in the sector.
The optimism extends to the broader crypto market as well. Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange backed by investor Peter Thiel, made headlines by doubling in value in its NYSE debut this August, reaching a staggering USD 13.2 billion valuation. Its stock launch, one of the first major US listings of a crypto exchange, underscored rising investor confidence in the sector’s future under clearer regulations.
In fact, Bullish announced its plans to convert a significant chunk of its IPO proceeds into stablecoins, signalling just how bullish (no pun intended) it is on this segment of crypto. The company noted that stablecoin usage has boomed since the GENIUS Act was signed, thanks to the new regulatory regime for these dollar-pegged tokens.
To market watchers, moves like this suggest that Washington’s crypto-friendly shift, described by Reuters as “a string of regulatory wins under a pro-crypto White House,” is encouraging mainstream adoption and investment.
Even beyond Bullish, several US financial institutions (from exchange Gemini to asset manager Grayscale) are eyeing public listings, emboldened by the sense that the crypto industry is stepping out of legal limbo and into the regulated mainstream.
Perhaps the strongest sign of stablecoins’ coming of age is the lineup of heavyweight companies now preparing to launch their own dollar-backed coins. Reuters reported that “financial companies from Bank of America to Fiserv are preparing to launch their own dollar-backed crypto tokens” in the wake of the GENIUS Act.
This range spans traditional Wall Street titans (like Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank) to fintech service providers (Fiserv, a Fortune 500 payments and tech company), which shows that interest in stablecoins is broad-based across financial services.
Tricky Considerations
The GENIUS Act may open new doors for stablecoins, but experts warn that implementation involves “numerous tricky considerations” spanning strategy, compliance, and technology. Firms must first clarify purpose, which means deciding whether to issue customer-facing coins for loyalty and payments or internal tokens for cross-border settlements, since intended use shapes every decision.
Then comes the build-versus-partner dilemma, because launching an in-house stablecoin offers control and branding but requires massive technical, regulatory, and governance investment, while partnering with issuers like Circle provides speed and credibility. Compliance is another major hurdle, with non-bank firms needing to adopt bank-level KYC, AML, and reporting systems, while banks face capital treatment questions that could affect profitability.
Technology choices add complexity, as public blockchains like Ethereum offer scale and accessibility but less control, while private ledgers ensure governance but may lack resilience and interoperability.
In addition, regulatory uncertainty remains, as agencies like the OCC and Treasury must still draft detailed rules, meaning stablecoin adoption will phase in gradually. Companies face a long list of strategic, technical, and financial hurdles before the GENIUS Act’s promise can be fully realised.