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U.S. banks move to amend GENIUS stablecoin Act over "loophole"
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U.S. banks move to amend GENIUS stablecoin Act over “loophole”

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Major banking groups in the United States are pushing to change certain provisions of the recently passed GENIUS stablecoin Act, citing concerns over aspects of the law that could affect the traditional financial industry.

Summary

  • U.S. banking groups are lobbying lawmakers to reconsider certain provisions of the GENIUS stablecoin Act.
  • Banks argue that the current structure creates an uneven playing field that could threaten the future of traditional financial institutions.
  • Crypto industry groups have pushed back, stating that the provisions are a necessary feature to support innovation and maintain consumer choice.

On Aug. 25, the Financial Times reported that U.S. banking groups are actively lobbying lawmakers to reconsider certain provisions of the GENIUS legislation.

Passed earlier in July, the GENIUS Act marked the first official stablecoin law in the United States, set out to regulate the billion-dollar market and maintain the country’s dominance in the sector. Part of the regulation prevents issuers from directly paying interest or yield to stablecoin holders, a measure intended to protect stability in the system.

This provision means that while banks can issue their own stablecoins, they are prohibited from offering any interest. In contrast, crypto exchanges can still provide rewards to holders of third-party stablecoins, such as Circle’s USDC (USD Coin) or Tether (Tether). The groups describe this provision as a “loophole” that indirectly favors crypto exchanges over traditional banks, warning that it could prompt customers to shift deposits from banks to platforms offering higher returns, creating an uneven playing field.

The groups cited an April Treasury report that estimated stablecoins offering yield could move as much as $6.6 trillion away from the traditional banking system, warning that such outflows could jeopardize the stability of the banking sector. 

However, representatives from the crypto industry have reportedly pushed back against the banks’ campaign, arguing that the concerns are overstated.

Crypto industry pushback: GENIUS Act “loophole” is not a flaw

Advocacy groups, including the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, have argued that the “loophole” described in the GENIUS Act by the banks is not a flaw, but a necessary feature to maintain competition and innovation in the sector.

They contend that restricting exchanges from offering rewards to stablecoin holders would unfairly protect banks while limiting consumer choice. Industry figures like Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, have also condemned the concerns, emphasizing that the industry should be allowed to evolve without unnecessary restrictions.

The GENIUS stablecoin has been celebrated as a regulatory milestone for the industry, championing the long-awaited clarity for the asset class. However, the ongoing dispute underscores the tensions emerging as rules take shape, highlighting the need for a careful balance to ensure both innovation and stability.



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GameFi Guides

GENIUS was just the prologue. Stablecoins represent a platform shift in payments. The stage is set.

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Every era of economic transformation has begun the same way: with infrastructure that seems niche – until it isn’t.

Early irrigation systems unlocked the first cities. Early railroad networks rewired entire economies. The internet’s core protocols, TCP/IP, turned slow and siloed information networks into a single, global system of communication. And the Cloud turned idle servers into the foundation of the digital economy.

We don’t remember them for how they started. We remember them for how they scaled. Because in effect, what once looked like niche experiments became the backbone of global markets.

Stablecoins are next. Welcome to the age of the stablecoin layer: an open, programmable foundation for global money movement.

Just last year, stablecoins lacked clear regulation and were dismissed by much of the financial establishment. Fast forward a matter of months, and the U.S. Congress has passed the GENIUS Act, creating the country’s first federal framework for stablecoins and defining them explicitly as payment instruments. Major banks and card networks have entered this space. Early-movers like Circle have made their Wall Street debut. And fintech leaders from Stripe to Shopify are embracing stablecoins to power faster, cheaper, always-on transactions.

These aren’t isolated milestones. They’re early signs that stablecoins are on track to become core infrastructure, just like AWS became the quiet engine of the cloud economy. Stablecoins represent a platform shift in payments. Just like prior platform shifts – mainframe computing to individual computers, desktop to mobile, and on-premises to cloud-based infrastructure – stablecoins will unlock a wave of innovation by modernizing financial infrastructure. This is the tipping point, but it’s also only the beginning, and too many people are still thinking far too small.

To many, dollars are still shackled to outdated infrastructure like wire transfers and ACH. None of it is built for composability, automation, or machine-to-machine interaction as is required in the modern age. It’s a slow-motion relic holding back an interconnected, global economy that wants to move faster and include more people. Until we modernize the rails, we’re capping the true velocity of money – and with it, global economic potential.

Stablecoins snap that bind. No bank holidays, no middlemen, no concept of business days or hours. Just global, cheap, and instantaneous settlement at scales of billions of dollars at a time. That transformation is as fundamental as turning mail into email.

Stablecoins offer what legacy financial infrastructure simply can’t: instant settlement, borderless reach, low costs, and programmable design. They will disrupt more than any other crypto building block – rewriting payments, liquifying capital markets, and bringing the internet’s speed and interoperability to money itself.

This shift goes well beyond payments between people. Stablecoins will also underpin the next phase of AI-native commerce as sovereign AI agents abandon legacy fiat systems in favor of decentralized money that flows freely across blockchain infrastructure. This will power automated treasury flows, agentic commerce, machine-to-machine transactions, and sovereign AI agent transactions.

Money is getting an upgrade.

The stablecoin layer isn’t just a new system, it’s a new substrate for the global economy. The velocity of money movement is positively correlated with economic growth. Stablecoins will unlock trillions in latent economic activity and help grow global GDP by full percentage points each year. And all of this activity will be AI-native.

Yet for all the progress, the opportunity is still in its infancy. The GENIUS Act was a critical milestone, but it’s still one piece of legislation. And while the stablecoin market cap sits at over $280 billion today, the U.S. M2 money supply – the total amount of money circulating within the US economy – exceeds $20 trillion. That’s nearly a 100:1 gap.

We’re still underselling how fast and forceful the shift to the stablecoin standard will be, and how quickly AI will accelerate it. Put simply, this summer marked only the soft launch of the stablecoin era. The infrastructure is in place, and the scale of what’s coming far exceeds the conversation today.

This shift won’t be loud, and that’s by design. In a few years, no one will say they’re “using stablecoins,” just like nobody says they’re “using cloud computing” to store pictures of their kids. They’ll just use money. And stablecoins will be the infrastructure powering it all behind the scenes, moving billions across the globe in real time.

The biggest winners in this transition will be the platforms operating behind the scenes: those who power the rails, provide liquidity, and earn our trust. Fintechs will use stablecoins for instant settlement and global reach. Governments – eventually, reluctantly – will integrate stablecoins into critical economic functions. AI agents will speak the language of stablecoins natively.

This isn’t a bet on crypto hype. It’s a recognition that our financial system needs an upgrade, and stablecoins are the gateway. They’re not just a better form of money; they’re the onramp to the onchain economy. Once users hold stablecoins, they’re one step away from accessing a global, open, and programmable financial system. That’s why the stablecoin layer isn’t just the most important sector in crypto – it’s the foundation for the future of digital currency.



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Margaux Nijkerk
NFT Gaming

U.S. GENIUS Law Jolts EU Into Rethinking Digital Euro Strategy: FT

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European Union policymakers are discussing ramping up efforts to introduce a digital euro as the U.S.’ new stablecoin law intensifies pressure on the bloc to keep up the pace in the fast-moving world of digital money, the Financial Times reported,

The U.S. Congress last month approved the GENIUS Act, a framework for the $288 billion stablecoin sector dominated by dollar-pegged tokens like Tether’s USDT and Circle Internet’s (CRCL) USDC. The move caught many in Europe off guard, according to people familiar with the talks, and sparked concerns that dollar-pegged tokens could tighten America’s grip on cross-border payments if the EU doesn’t accelerate its own plans.

In a notable shift, officials are now weighing whether to launch the central bank digital currency (CBDC) on public blockchains like Ethereum or Solana rather than the private infrastructure previously envisioned.

Until recently, the European Central Bank (ECB) had been leaning toward a private, centrally controlled system, citing privacy and security. But sources say the U.S. legislation has shifted the conversation, with some policymakers now open to decentralized networks that could help the euro circulate more freely and compete with dollar-based digital assets globally, according to the FT.

The ECB has been studying a digital euro for several years, pitching it as a public alternative to privately issued payment systems as cash use dwindles. Yet U.S. momentum is raising concerns that euro deposits could increasingly flow into dollar-denominated assets abroad.

With China piloting its digital yuan and the U.K. considering a digital pound, Europe faces mounting pressure to deliver. A handful of euro-backed stablecoins already exist, Circle’s EURC among them, but a central bank-issued token would carry far more weight.

The ECB confirmed to the Financial Times it is still evaluating both centralized and decentralized technologies, leaving open the possibility of a blockchain-powered euro as officials race to protect the single currency’s relevance in a digitizing world.

Read more: ECB Says U.S.-Backed Stablecoin Use in EU Could Weaken Its Monetary Autonomy



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Crypto Groups Push Back on Bank Lobby Over GENIUS Act
Crypto Trends

Crypto Groups Push Back on Bank Lobby Over GENIUS Act

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Two of the crypto industry’s leading advocacy bodies are pushing back against Wall Street bankers’ latest attempt to roll back the United States’ newly minted stablecoin law.

In a joint letter to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) and the Blockchain Association urged lawmakers to reject recommendations from the American Bankers Association (ABA) and state banking groups.

As reported, several US banking groups, led by the Bank Policy Institute (BPI), have urged Congress to tighten the GENIUS Act by closing what they call a loophole that could allow stablecoin issuers and their affiliates to pay yields indirectly.

In a letter sent last Tuesday, the groups warned that failing to address the gap could drain as much as $6.6 trillion from traditional bank deposits, threatening the flow of credit to households and businesses.

Banking lobby on stablecoins yield loophole. Source: Bank Policy Institute

Related: Coinbase revives stablecoin bootstrap fund to boost USDC in DeFi

Stablecoin yield loophole

The bankers also argued that while the GENIUS Act bans stablecoin issuers themselves from offering yield, it does not explicitly prevent exchanges or affiliates from doing so on their behalf. They claimed this risks giving stablecoins a competitive edge by attracting users with returns similar to savings accounts, without subjecting them to the same banking rules.

The crypto groups accused the banking lobby of trying to re-litigate issues already settled in months of negotiations, warning that the proposed revisions would tilt the field toward traditional banks while stifling innovation and consumer choice.

“Payment stablecoins are not bank deposits, or money market funds, or investment products, and thus they are not regulated in the same way,” the crypto advocacy groups wrote. “Unlike bank deposits, payment stablecoins are not used to fund loans,” they added.

The letter pointed out Section 16(d) of the law, which allows subsidiaries of state-chartered institutions to conduct stablecoin business across state lines without requiring additional licenses.

Banking groups want the clause repealed, but CCI and the Blockchain Association argued that scrapping it would re-create “the same fragmented, balkanized regulatory regime that stifles interstate commerce.”

They also pushed back against claims that yield-bearing stablecoins could drain deposits from community banks. They cited a July 2025 analysis by Charles River Associates, which found no significant link between stablecoin growth and bank outflows.

Related: South Korea readies stablecoin framework; bill set for October

Yield stablecoins cross $800 million in payouts

Yield-bearing stablecoins have distributed over $800 million in total returns to holders so far, according to a recent post by StableWatch. Over the past 30 days, Ethena Staked USDe (sUSDe) led payouts with $30.71 million, followed by Securitize’s BUIDL at $8.39 million and Sky Ecosystem’s staked USDe (sUSDe) with $6.78 million.

Stablecoins yield payout. Source: Stablewatch

The total market cap of stablecoins currently sits at $288 billion, a fraction of the US dollar money supply, which the Federal Reserve reported as $22 trillion at the end of June.

Magazine: Bitcoin vs stablecoins showdown looms as GENIUS Act nears



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GENIUS Act Was Signed One Month Ago
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GENIUS Act Was Signed One Month Ago

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The GENIUS Act was signed by President Donald Trump on Jul. 18, 2025. The bill was aimed at setting a legal framework for stablecoin issuers. One month after signing it into law, we can see the real impact as stablecoin-focused blockchains and corporate-issued stablecoins become a hot topic. How did the GENIUS Act help launch these trends, and why do the Free Banking era comparisons emerge in the discussions about the GENIUS Act?

Summary

  • The GENIUS Act sparked new trends in the stablecoin space even before it was signed into law.
  • Big tech companies, including Amazon, Meta, Airbnb, and Uber, are looking to integrate stablecoins into their infrastructure. 
  • Some corporations issue stablecoins, while others are developing dedicated stablecoin layer-1 blockchains.
  • Alarmists were comparing stablecoins to wildcat banknotes of the free banking era. Now, the GENIUS Act makes these claims obsolete.

The stablecoin space and the GENIUS Act

The GENIUS Act, or Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, sets the rules for issuers of stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies with fixed value usually pegged to a certain fiat currency or other type of asset. The stablecoin space is largely dominated by tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar. 

For many people, stablecoins became a handy remittance tool as they, unlike other types of cryptocurrencies, preserve their value while being transferred swiftly across the globe, requiring nothing except a crypto wallet. While many see Bitcoin as a store of value (or “digital gold”), stablecoins are a practical means of payment. Additionally, in countries with high inflation rates, where local currencies quickly lose their value against the U.S. dollar, stablecoins serve as a savings account.

According to the White House ‘Crypto Czar’ David Sacks:

“Stablecoins really have the potential to ensure American dollar dominance internationally, to increase the usage of the U.S. dollar digitally as the world’s reserve currency, and in the process create potentially trillions of dollars of demand for U.S. treasuries.” 

🚨 BREAKING:

TRUMP‘S CRYPTO CZAR DAVID SACKS SAYS STABLECOINS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ENSURE THE US DOLLAR DOMINANCE INTERNATIONALLY! 🇺🇸

‚RLUSD‘ IS ABOUT TO CONQUER THE STABLECOIN MARKET! 🏆 #XRP 🤝🏼 RLUSD pic.twitter.com/ULxYWiFEKZ

— 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮 (@_Crypto_Barbie) February 4, 2025

The growing popularity of USD-pegged stablecoins across the world facilitates an indirect demand for the U.S. dollar and the U.S. Treasury bills. Especially given that the GENIUS Act requires stablecoin issuers to back their supply and make each token redeemable. Thus, stablecoin issuers stimulate the buy pressure on USD and keep these dollars to back their supply instead of selling them, while people will keep on using stablecoins not only to dodge sanctions or buy illicit goods, but simply because individuals and institutions find paying in stablecoins is easy. Soon, integration with Mastercard and other traditional payment systems will likely make stablecoins more popular.

What is the impact of the GENIUS Act?

The GENIUS Act was influential even before becoming the law. As the bill was a bipartisan effort under the crypto-friendly administration, big corporations began to share plans for various projects that involve stablecoins. For instance, Apple, X, Uber, and Airbnb started working on possible stablecoin integration before the passage of the GENIUS Act.

Another new trend, hardly possible during the gray area stablecoins era, is the emergence of stablecoin-focused layer-1 blockchains. USDC issuer Circle is working on the Arc blockchain, designed to work with stablecoins. Payment processor Stripe is working on its own stablecoin-focused Tempo layer-1 blockchain. Stable and Plasma are startups developing their respective stablecoin blockchains. Competition grows as companies strive to gain more control over the flow of stablecoins and decrease transaction costs.

On top of that, by July, several corporations outside the crypto industry introduced plans to launch their corporate stablecoins. The names include Walmart, Meta, and Amazon. In May, four major banks, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and Bank of America, started exploring the possibility of collaborating on a joint stablecoin.

As the bill was signed into law, the number of companies planning to issue their USD-pegged stablecoin surged while already existing stablecoin issuers continued to work on scaling their products for institutional use. Currently, corporations working on their USD-pegged stablecoins include Société Générale, Revolut, and Fiserv. 

It is hardly a coincidence that the emergence of such a massive and diverse surge in stablecoin-focused projects by big tech corporations and startups takes place when the GENIUS Act streamlines the stablecoin business.

The GENIUS Act and free banking

For years, USD-pegged stablecoin critics have been drawing parallels between stablecoins and the Free Banking era in the U.S. The latter was a period in the 19th century, when banks were issuing dollar-denominated private currencies against their gold reserves with little to no government oversight.

In the wake of the stablecoin’s popularity spike and especially after the GENIUS Act bill’s emergence, this comparison began to gain traction. Some see this parallel as inspiring, while others are less optimistic, citing the worst examples of “wildcat” bank-issued banknotes that caused chaos in several regions of the U.S.

“In a similar manner to how privately-issued “wildcat” currencies were replaced by government-backed central currencies in the late-1800s, Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) will likely need to replace stablecoins…”

Source: https://t.co/uVrEs8Xe9K

— Gold Telegraph ⚡ (@GoldTelegraph_) November 4, 2024

Crypto investor and writer Nic Carter took a bold stance, making a solid effort in dotting the i’s in this debate. In an essay titled “The Last Word on Stablecoins and Free Banking,” Carter suggests that stablecoins indeed were similar to questionable and unreliable wildcat currencies before the GENIUS Act passage, and it was the new law that eliminated the risks, thanks to requirements of 100% backing of supply and other holder protection measures.

“…when you consider today’s stablecoins against the failures of the banks in antebellum America, the specific reasons that free banks failed in the US are today addressed with stablecoins, especially in the post-GENIUS regime. In my view, the lessons of this particular historical episode actually vindicate the contemporary stablecoin project, rather than diminishing it.”

Carter outlines that the free banking experience in Canada and Scotland was more positive than in the U.S., and it was the U.S. government’s restrictions that were to blame for the failure of free banking in the U.S.

i would like to make it illegal to talk about free banking (in the context of stablecoins) without having read the following books:

– Free Banking in Britain: Theory, Experience, and Debate, 1800–1845 by @lawrencehwhite1

– Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and…

— nic carter (@nic__carter) July 22, 2025

Carter claims that many stablecoin critics use comparison with the Free Banking era to advocate for the adoption of central bank digital currencies, a form of central-bank stablecoins rejected by the Trump Administration.

Matt Hougan, the CIO at Bitwise, is another notable opposer of comparisons between wildcat banks and stablecoins. The day the GENIUS Act was signed into law, he took to X to dismiss the “careless comparison.” Hoguan explained that one of the problems with free banking was that redemption of banknotes required a physical visit to the bank, and depending on the distance from the issuer, its notes could trade at a discount to other dollars.

Defending stablecoins, Hougan wrote:

“In the Genius Act, there are strict limits on the assets [issuers] hold, redemptions can be made daily from anywhere, and stablecoin prices will trade on exchanges, allowing instant convertibility and price discovery. State-regulated stablecoins are size-limited ($10b cap), which means they’ll be a vanishing fraction of the market, and are generally subject to the same asset holding and redemption provisions as the federally regulated stablecoins that will make up 95%+ of the market.”

Lately, it is easier to find favorable comparisons between the free banking era and stablecoins than alarmist ones, so it seems that the narrative shifts and a more positive stance is taking over. Nevertheless, one month is a very short period for a high-scale business, and a lot of things may unfold in the time to come.





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U.s. Treasury Seeks Public Input On Genius Stablecoin Bill
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U.S. Treasury Seeks Public Input on GENIUS Stablecoin Bill

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The U.S. Treasury has launched a public consultation on the GENIUS Act, a new law that aims to regulate stablecoins, digital dollars with a fixed value, and improve the role of America in global digital finance.

The Treasury is seeking the input of citizens, businesses, and professionals regarding the regulation of stablecoins, including the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain surveillance, digital identity verification, and application programming interfaces (APIs).

Today, Treasury issued a Request for Comment required by the GENIUS Act, which furthers the Administration’s policy of supporting the responsible growth and use of digital assets, as outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order on “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital…

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) August 18, 2025

These inputs will assist in evaluating the advantages, expenses, privacy threats, and cybersecurity issues of these technologies. The deadline to submit is October 17, 2025, and submissions will be published on regulations.gov.

The GENIUS Act, signed earlier this year on July 18, 2025, creates a clear framework for U.S.-based stablecoin issuers. It builds on the U.S. President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14178, which also allowed crypto investments in 401(k) retirement plans. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the law a “win-win-win” for users, issuers, and the government, saying it will expand global access to the U.S. dollar and boost demand for U.S. Treasuries, the bonds backing stablecoins.

Implementing the GENIUS Act is essential to securing American leadership in digital assets.

Stablecoins will expand dollar access for billions across the globe and lead to a surge in demand for U.S. Treasuries, which back stablecoins.

It’s a win-win-win for everyone involved:… https://t.co/p5nRQpBfnw

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 18, 2025

Industry leaders have praised the move. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, a major stablecoin issuer, called it “more than financial legislation,” emphasizing that it shows the U.S. is ready to embrace innovations that make finance safer, more transparent, and inclusive. 

He credited policymakers, developers, and Circle’s team for driving the effort and described the law as the “starting gun” for a new era in financial technology.

The GENIUS Act signals that the U.S. is serious about leading in digital assets. By regulating stablecoins, the law aims to make digital dollars secure for billions worldwide while encouraging technological innovation in the financial system. 

Public participation now will shape how the law is implemented and how stablecoins grow globally.

Also Read: Banks call for action on GENIUS Act stablecoin yield loophole





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Circle's Jeremy Allaire on GENIUS Act: 'Internet of Money Has Arrived'
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Circle’s Jeremy Allaire on GENIUS Act: ‘Internet of Money Has Arrived’

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Jeremy Allaire, cofounder of Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin, has dropped a motivational post on X. Allaire emphasized the importance of persistence in the cryptocurrency industry in the post. He did this by highlighting his role in the birth of the GENIUS Act.

Jeremy Allaire reflects on Circle’s early struggles

The Circle CEO recalled how many stakeholders, including investors, regulators and even family members, doubted him when he conceived the idea of Circle in 2013. According to him, the idea that money could move just like information on the internet, cheaply, instantly and globally, was unbelievable to many.

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However, with 12 years of persistence, patience and collaboration, the stablecoin sector has witnessed massive growth. Allaire noted that, working with regulators and lawmakers, legislation to regulate the sector has finally seen the light of day.

“Are you out of your mind?”

That’s what I heard more than once in the early days of Circle.

Twelve years later, the GENIUS Act has been signed into law, and we can now say the internet of money has arrived. 🧵

— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) August 18, 2025

For context, the GENIUS Act is landmark legislation for the crypto industry in the U.S., particularly for stablecoins. The act provides a regulatory framework and transparency for fiat-backed stablecoins.

Allaire is stating that if he had given up when many did not believe in Circle, or thought that “internet money” was crazy, these gains would not have been achieved. In a nutshell, he said that large systems do not change overnight, announcing that the internet of money has arrived.

Circle’s market position

Circle currently ranks second on the stablecoin market, with a market capitalization of $68.14 billion. It is surpassed only by Tether, whose market cap stands at $166.81 billion.

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Meanwhile, earlier in May 2025, the rumor of Ripple acquiring USDC was widespread, with the XRP-backed company offering $20 billion. However, the deal unraveled as Circle filed for an IPO with the New York Stock Exchange.

In July, John Deaton, pro-Ripple lawyer, had to dismiss speculation that Circle posed a threat to XRP. Deaton maintained that XRP is not a stablecoin, nor is it trying to be USDC.





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Public Keys: Circle and Coinbase Get GENIUS Bump, Bitcoin Treasuries on Shaky Ground?

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In brief

  • Circle’s stock skyrocketed following the Senate’s GENIUS Act vote, with shares climbing from $156 to $248 and analysts predicting the stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion.
  • Bitcoin treasury companies like Semler Scientific are struggling with thin premiums over their BTC holdings, while newer entrants like Fold are raising capital for Bitcoin purchases.
  • Tron is pursuing a Nasdaq listing through reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, while Bitdeer’s stock fell after a $330M capital raise and FalconX explores IPO options.

Public Keys is a weekly roundup from Decrypt that tracks the key publicly traded crypto companies.

This week: Circle and Coinbase surge on stablecoin legislation movement, the Bitcoin treasury model raises concerns, and sources tell Decrypt that another crypto firm is eyeing an IPO this year.

Stroke of GENIUS

It makes sense that this week’s Senate vote in favor of the GENIUS Act was great for stablecoin issuers—but Circle has gone above and beyond.

The company’s CRCL shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, opened at $156.36 on Tuesday—the day of the Senate’s historic vote. Since then, the stock has skyrocketed, hitting a new peak just shy of $249 on Friday and finishing the day above $240.

For those keeping track, that means the company’s share price peaked at eight times that of its $31 IPO. It’s been just over two weeks since CRCL started trading.

Circle has been helped along by the fact that Wall Street analysts can’t help but rate the company highly. Jeff Cantwell, a senior analyst at Seaport Research Partners, initiated coverage on CRCL today with a buy rating and $235 price target.

Circle made it to that target before the bell even rang, dipped, and then shot past it.

“Circle’s strategy is to build the largest, most widely used stablecoin network in the world… This strikes us as a ‘TAM/adoption’ story,” Cantwell wrote in a note shared with Decrypt. TAM is Wall Street shorthand for total addressable market. And Cantwell reckons most of his peers are underestimating just how big the stablecoin market will become.



“We think the overall stablecoin market cap will reach $500 billion by the end of next year; longer-term, we think it ultimately can reach $2 trillion,” he said. That would mean the $260 billion stablecoin market will double in the next six months.

Buckle up, kids.

For what it’s worth, Coinbase, which trades on the Nasdaq under the COIN ticker and co-founded USDC with Circle, has received its own GENIUS-inspired gains. Its stock rose about 30% this week and closed Friday above $308, up more than 4% on the day.

Not an exact science?

Michael Saylor, Strategy co-founder and chairman, famously quipped about Bitcoin, “There is no second best.” It’s even been turned into a song.

But it’s starting to look like Stategy’s Bitcoin treasury company blueprint is really difficult to follow—and that’s not for lack of Saylor & Co. trying to spread the gospel.

Earlier this week, Nasdaq-listed healthcare firm Semler Scientific appeared to be flashing warning signs to investors. On Tuesday, the company was valued at a razor-thin premium compared to its Bitcoin holdings. Its mNAV, or multiple-to-net asset value had fallen to 1.07.

mNAV is a rough measure of how much premium investors assign to its Bitcoin holdings.

Since Tuesday, Semler’s mNAV has improved slightly to 1.23, according to the company’s website.

That’s after the company said Friday morning that it wants to amass 105,000 Bitcoin by 2027. That pushed the stock to a closing price of $36.14, or 13% higher than its Wednesday close. But the company’s shares are still way below the $55.05 they were at the start of the year and half what they were in December, when shares were trading above $78.

Now financial services firm Fold is selling $250 million worth of shares in an effort to turn that cash into a BTC treasury. The company’s shares were trading for $4.57 when it made its announcement on Tuesday. By Friday afternoon, they had slipped to $4.50.

Funny enough, the Bitcoin treasury companies with the best unrealized gains are Tesla and Block, Inc.. The companies have an average cost basis of $33,539 and $30,405, respectively, which means their holdings have net unrealized gains that are more than three times what they paid.

Block has never sold any of its Bitcoin, but Tesla’s unrealized gains could have been even higher. Remember: The company sold 75% of its BTC in 2022, when BTC was trading around $24,000.

Other Keys

  • Tron goes public the Trump way—maybe: Justin Sun is taking Tron public by way of a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The company has ties to Eric Trump. Or at least it seemed that way, until the President’s son denied “public involvement”—though he’s on the advisory board of Domnari Securities, which is brokering the deal. The deal values the combined firm at $210 million and includes a $100 million token purchase from SRM.
  • Bitdeer in headlights: Bitcoin miner Bitdeer’s share price plummeted after upsizing its most recent capital raise to $330 million. The raise was not to buy Bitcoin, but rather to pay $129.6 million in zero-strike call options, $36.1 million to pay cash considerations, and the rest for data center expansion. The sale is expected to close Monday, so we’ll know soon how many investors took them up on the offering. BTDR finished the week down 12%.
  • FalconX wants to FlyPO. Crypto prime broker FalconX is in early talks for an IPO. Sources familiar with the discussions told Decrypt reporter Liz Napolitano that the company has already spoken to investment bankers and other experts about the public listing process, but hasn’t actually hired an investment bank just yet.

Edited by James Rubin

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Trump Pushes House to Pass GENIUS Act as Lawmakers Debate Crypto Oversight

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In brief

  • Trump has urged the House to pass the GENIUS Act without delay or amendments.
  • The bill would create a framework for issuing and trading stablecoins in the U.S.
  • But critics have raised concerns over White House crypto ties and conflicts of interest.

U.S. President Donald Trump is urging lawmakers in the House of Representatives to move quickly to pass the GENIUS Act, a stablecoin-focused bill that cleared the Senate in a 68-30 vote on Tuesday.

The legislation, which would establish a federal framework for the issuance and trading of stablecoins, was described by Trump as “incredible” and a path to making “America the UNDISPUTED Leader in Digital Assets.”

“The House will hopefully move LIGHTNING FAST, and pass a ‘clean’ GENIUS Act. Get it to my desk, ASAP — NO DELAYS, NO ADD ONS,” Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday.

“This is American Brilliance at its best, and we are going to show the World how to WIN with Digital Assets like never before,” he added.

Despite Senate passage, the GENIUS Act faces a more contentious path in the House. Lawmakers are divided over whether to pass the bill in its current form or combine it with other crypto-related legislation such as the CLARITY or STABLE Acts. 

Others are demanding stricter provisions due to perceived conflicts of interest stemming from the Trump family’s involvement in the digital asset space.

The House must now pass the bill before it can be signed into law. While Senate Republicans have called for it to be enacted by July 4, House Republicans are weighing whether to fold it into broader crypto market legislation to improve its chances. 

Among them, the House Republicans are pushing their own stablecoin bill, the STABLE Act.

The Senate vote itself came only after a series of amendments, including language on conflicts of interest, which helped regain support from some Democrats. 

However, the final version still allows the sitting president and vice president, along with their families, to be involved with stablecoin ventures.

Critics argue the bill legitimizes and potentially enables ongoing conflicts. Most prominently, USD1, a stablecoin launched by the Trump family’s platform World Liberty Financial, is currently the eighth-largest stablecoin in the world by market capitalization.

“In advancing these bills, lawmakers forfeited their opportunity to confront Trump’s crypto grift—the largest, most flagrant corruption in presidential history,” Bartlett Naylor of Public Citizen previously told Decrypt.

Senator Elizabeth Warren warned that the legislation could allow tech giants to exploit consumer data under the guise of innovation. 

“If Congress doesn’t fix it, billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg could launch stablecoins that track your purchases, exploit your data, and squeeze out competitors,” she said.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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Circle stock surges 34% to $200 after GENIUS Act passes
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Circle stock surges 34% to $200 after GENIUS Act passes

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Circle’s stock surged 34% on June 18 to close at $199.59 after the GENIUS Act cleared the Senate.

According to Yahoo Finance data, the stock briefly touched an all-time high of $200.90 before closing at $199.59. The move marked a nearly 6.5-fold increase from the company’s initial public offering price of $31 set two weeks earlier on June 5.

The sharp rally came just after the U.S. Senate passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, a bill that would establish a comprehensive federal framework for regulating dollar-backed stablecoins such as Circle’s USD Coin (USDC). 

The legislation, which cleared the Senate with a 68–30 vote on June 17, now heads to the House of Representatives. House Financial Services Committee staff confirmed that scheduling discussions are expected to begin next week, although a floor vote date has not yet been announced. Supporters of the bill hope to have it on President Donald Trump’s desk before the August congressional recess.

Alongside Circle’s gains, Coinbase’s stock increased by 14%, and Robinhood’s stock rose by 4.5% to reach a new all-time high of $78.35. The market reaction reflected growing confidence that clear federal oversight of stablecoins could accelerate mainstream adoption and de-risk the regulatory landscape for U.S.-based issuers.

The GENIUS Act creates federal licensing requirements for stablecoin issuers, mandates complete backing of tokens with dollar reserves, such as cash or Treasuries, and gives the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency oversight powers.

The legislation also seeks to improve technical interoperability among blockchain platforms and standardize consumer protection guidelines. While some states, like New York, already regulate stablecoins through local regimes like BitLicense, the GENIUS Act aims to bring all of those efforts together under a single national standard.

The Act enhances Circle’s standing as a top U.S. issuer with institutional-grade practices, as it already complies with strict reserve transparency and compliance standards. USDC, Circle’s primary product, is currently widely used in decentralized finance, remittances, and tokenized payment systems.



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