Stablecoins: The Silent Revolution Is Already Here

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) is the first real U.S. federal framework for “payment stablecoins.” It focuses on:

• 1:1 reserve backing (USD, Treasuries)
• Monthly disclosure requirements
• AML compliance via Bank Secrecy Act
• Exemptions from securities/commodities laws for compliant issuers
• Dual federal-state oversight
• Both banks and non-banks eligible through licensing

Timeline and Key Milestones

What’s Happening Now (November 2025)

Treasury, OCC, Fed, and FinCEN are reviewing over 1,000 comments from issuers, banks and consumer groups. We expect proposed rules by Q1 2026, focusing on licensing (particularly for $50B+ issuers) and non-payment stablecoins.

During the grace period (until 2026), issuers can operate under existing rules but must prepare for compliance requirements like no interest payments to holders and superpriority redemption in bankruptcy.

Impact

This legislation enables federally authorized issuance (boosting USDC/JPM Coin), aligns with EU MiCA, and supports projected $1.4T+ USD demand by 2027 (JPM estimate).

Critics (including Consumer Reports) point to gaps in consumer protections versus traditional banks.

The U.S. is cementing its leadership in stablecoins ($305B+ market cap), but full implementation depends on the rulemaking process.

For more details: [Congress.gov (S.1582)] (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1582)