Source: Cointelegraph
Original: (Kevin O’Leary: Traditional forex and payment platforms 'hate' the adoption of stablecoins)
Investor Kevin O'Leary pointed out in his keynote speech at Consensus 2025 that global forex and payment platforms are actively lobbying against stablecoins, as stablecoins could significantly disrupt their existing business models.
At the conference held in Toronto, O'Leary stated that traditional forex and payment platforms typically charge high fees for cross-border fund transfer services, and if regulated stablecoins are accepted as a more economical and faster alternative, these platforms will face a loss of revenue.
"Currency trading is a market worth trillions of dollars — it is outdated, complex, and inefficient," O'Leary stated, adding that "the greatest threat to this monopoly or oligopoly is regulated stablecoins."
"Once approved, the trillion-dollar forex market will become efficient, transparent, and significantly cheaper," he said.
O'Leary added that the legislation being advanced by U.S. lawmakers is expected to accelerate the adoption of global stablecoins.
U.S. senators plan to pass the so-called 'Genius Bill' — a regulatory framework for stablecoins — by the end of May. "Once the SEC approves the stablecoin bill, every regulatory agency within the U.S. regulatory system — Abu Dhabi, Switzerland, the UK — will follow suit," O'Leary stated.
"Who is worried about this development? The financial services industry. They are extremely opposed to this idea and are doing everything they can to prevent the bill from passing," he further pointed out.
O'Leary believes that clarification of stablecoin regulation could be a prelude to broader cryptocurrency reforms, potentially unlocking trillions of dollars in institutional capital.
"When these regulations come out, people will see significant improvements and substantial progress in consumer protection, bankruptcy protection, and ethical standards," said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at an event hosted by the lobbying group Stand with Crypto.
According to CoinGecko data, as of May 15, the total market capitalization of stablecoins is close to $250 billion. Tether (USDT) is the market leader, with a market cap of about $150 billion. Following closely is USDC issued by Circle, another stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, with a market cap of over $60 billion.
Related: Analysts: Bitcoin (BTC) hits the $2 trillion market cap mark, the surge is 'crazy'
