Key Points
- A new U.g. law, the GENIUS Act, has created the first-ever rules for stablecoins.
- Major financial firms like Bank of America are now preparing to launch their own stablecoins.
- Companies now face complex decisions about how to create and use their stablecoins.
- Banks have an advantage due to their existing compliance systems, but still face challenges.
A new U.S. law setting the first-ever rules for stablecoins has major financial companies like Bank of America and Fiserv gearing up to launch their own dollar-backed crypto tokens. The “GENIUS Act,” signed into law by President Trump last month, could pave the way for these digital assets to become an everyday tool for payments and money transfers.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to hold a constant value, usually pegged 1-to-1 with the U.S. dollar. Their popularity has soared among crypto traders, but this new law could bring them into the mainstream. Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon are reportedly also considering their own stablecoin strategies.
The big appeal is the promise of instant payments. Unlike traditional banking, which can take days to settle transactions, stablecoins can move money almost instantly, often with lower fees.
However, experts warn that the path forward isn’t simple. While the new law provides a clear regulatory framework, companies now face a host of tricky strategic and technical decisions.
They must decide whether to build their own stablecoin or partner with an existing one like Circle’s USDC. They also have to determine the purpose of their token—whether it will be used for customer purchases or internal cross-border transactions.
For non-banks, the new law brings new compliance costs, as they will have to follow strict anti-money laundering and “know your customer” rules. Banks, on the other hand, already have robust systems for this, giving them a big advantage. Still, even banks face challenges, such as figuring out how holding stablecoins will affect their capital requirements.
