In the past, everyone's impression of stablecoins was, to be honest, not very good. Many people felt it was opaque and unregulated. Even for mainstream stablecoins like USDT and USDC, there have always been questions: Do they really have sufficient reserves? Who is responsible if something goes wrong?

But now, the United States has started to take action.

The U.S. Senate finally passed the Stablecoin Genius Act with a vote of 68 to 30.

Why is it so important? Because this act is not a ban, but an attempt at 'systematic regulation.'

The GENIUS Act requires all dollar stablecoins to have a 1:1 sufficient reserve, with assets limited to cash or short-term U.S. Treasury securities. Monthly disclosure of reserve audit results is mandatory, and user funds are prohibited from being misappropriated or re-collateralized. Once the market capitalization exceeds $10 billion, they must enter the federal regulatory system. Stablecoins are now treated as 'formal financial instruments.'

Personally, I feel this is a struggle for monetary dominance. The U.S. does not want stablecoins to run out of control, nor does it want to be outpaced by other CBDCs. Therefore, it chooses to set rules directly, first 'incorporating' stablecoins before pushing them out globally.

The real impact of this act goes beyond on-chain:

1️⃣ Increase the transparency of stablecoins and rebuild market trust

2️⃣ Provide traditional financial institutions with a compliance pathway

3️⃣ Projects face higher compliance thresholds, and innovation decreases

In a sense, this is a reshuffle. Stablecoins will resemble real-world 🏦 products more closely, and will no longer just be 'transaction mediums' in Crypto but may become a key bridge between the real world and the blockchain world.

For example, in and out flows of funds. In the past, many users could only rely on OTC or gray channels. Now, if compliant stablecoins can connect directly to bank accounts, the thresholds for payments, cross-border transactions, and on-chain settlements will significantly decrease. This is the real key to driving stablecoins into the mainstream.

Of course, not everyone supports this approach. Some are concerned that excessive regulation will stifle innovation and completely turn Crypto into an appendage of the financial industry. Moreover, if only a few big players are licensed and compliantly issuing stablecoins, what is left of 'decentralization'?