GENIUS Act Targets Stablecoin Oversight to Curb Big Tech and Wall Street Control

According to Odaily, Circle's Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte recently highlighted key elements of the GENIUS Act during an appearance on the Unchained podcast. A critical yet lesser-known aspect of the legislation aims to limit the influence of major tech firms and Wall Street institutions in the stablecoin sector.

The act mandates that non-bank issuers of dollar-pegged tokens must establish separate, independent entities—mirroring Circle’s structure—to comply with antitrust safeguards. These entities will be subject to oversight and potential veto by a Treasury-led committee. Additionally, lending institutions that issue stablecoins are required to do so through legally distinct subsidiaries, ensuring these assets appear on risk-neutral balance sheets—without involving leverage or lending functions.

Disparte described the approach as more cautious than models proposed by traditional banks like JPMorgan, framing it as a regulatory framework that ultimately protects U.S. consumers, reinforces dollar stability, and encourages fair market participation.