On May 19, the U.S. Senate passed the procedural vote of the GENIUS Act with a high support rate of 66 to 32, marking a critical turning point in the global crypto finance development process. The full name of this federal-level legislation, the '2025 U.S. Stablecoin Innovation and Establishment Act', not only establishes the first clear and systematic compliance path for U.S. stablecoins but also sends a clear signal: 'The next stage for the dollar is on-chain.'
The market's reaction was also immediate. Sectors directly linked to the stablecoin ecosystem, such as DeFi, RWA, Layer 1, are the first to start, with a group of pioneers possibly standing at the starting line of a new round of structural bull market.
But behind this wave of compliant crypto is not just 'speculative logic', but a new war over the dollar, debt, compliance, and financial sovereignty.
From 'lawless land' to 'federally legal identity': Why is the GENIUS Act so crucial?
The reason the GENIUS Act has received so much attention is fundamentally because it clearly defines the institutional role of stablecoins in the U.S. financial system for the first time, breaking the long-standing 'legal but non-compliant' ambiguous status.
Overview of the core provisions of the bill:
100% reserve requirement: Stablecoins must be fully backed by U.S. dollars or short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
Market capitalization graded regulation: Over $10 billion in market capitalization requires federal regulation; below that is regulated by state governments.
Mandatory audits and transparency disclosures: Monthly public asset composition and annual audits become the norm.
Anti-money laundering/KYC compliance requirements strengthened: Signaling that the era of 'anonymous coins' may be marginalized.
Prohibition of algorithmic stablecoins from entering the mainstream market: Further raising the compliance threshold for DeFi.
This is a typical regulatory text of 'exchanging rules for space.' For centralized issuers that have deeply cultivated the path to compliance, it is a significant opportunity for value reassessment; for decentralized projects unwilling to accept constraints, it is a test of survival.
Who will reap the first wave of policy dividends?
Mlion.ai has conducted a classification analysis of the beneficiary projects under the GENIUS Act based on protocol mechanisms, reserve structures, on-chain data, etc. Here are the key projects breakdown:
1️⃣ Stablecoin 'national team': USDT & USDC lead the way
USDT (Tether)
Holds nearly $80 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, which naturally aligns with the requirements of the GENIUS Act. Once regulatory certainty is established, USDT's position as the 'first circulating currency' will be further strengthened. The biggest variable is whether its gray usage scenarios affect its compliance rating.USDC (Circle)
One of the most proactive projects embracing regulation, with high reserve transparency during the IPO process. Its market share in DeFi is continuously rising, making it very likely to become the default stablecoin for institutional trading and compliant DeFi.
🌟 AI Interpretation Suggestions (Source: Mlion.ai's coin regulatory risk model): USDC has the most compliance bonus points, while USDT needs to further disclose its 'gray industry' isolation capability. Both have expansion opportunities, but their funding structures are slightly different.
2️⃣ Decentralized stablecoins: Challenges and opportunities coexist
DAI (MakerDAO)
With ETH over-collateralization at its core, part of the reserves are allocated to U.S. Treasury bonds (reaching $900 million). If the U.S. Treasury bond allocation increases proactively, DAI will gain a second life within compliance boundaries. $MKR will also rise with protocol TVL and annual yield.FRAX (Frax Finance) / USDe (Ethena)
Belongs to the 'half-algorithm half-collateral' model, which will be restricted by the bill. Unless structural adjustments (e.g., introducing full support from U.S. Treasury bonds) are made, it faces delisting risks. However, if successful in transformation, its innovative mechanism still has disruptive potential.
3️⃣ DeFi infrastructure beneficiaries: Trading, lending, and yield protocols are all getting on board
Curve (CRV) / Uniswap (UNI)
Stablecoin pairs are important trading pairs for DEX. The surge in compliant stablecoin traffic → enhanced liquidity → increase in TVL → rise in protocol fees, with dual tokens having interlinked elasticity.Aave (AAVE) / Compound (COMP)
Stablecoins, as the main assets of lending pools, will see significant increases in lending activity. In particular, Aave has strong governance mechanisms and multi-chain deployment capabilities, benefiting more.Pendle (PENDLE)
As a pioneer of 'stable yield tokenization', expectations of rising interest rates and increasing stablecoin deposits will become dual boosters, with both TVL and annual income expectations looking bullish.
4️⃣ Layer 1 main chain: The underlying value is entering a reassessment window
Ethereum (ETH)
90% of stablecoins operate on Ethereum, with on-chain gas fee revenue, TVL, and DEX trading all relying on USDC/USDT traffic input. Once the bill is enacted, the Ethereum ecosystem will become the largest money-eating beast.Tron (TRX)
One of the largest issuance platforms for USDT, but with strong 'regulatory safe haven' attributes, it may be marginalized by compliant funds. In the long term, it may need to migrate to a more recognized on-chain compliance structure.Solana (SOL) / Sui (SUI) / Aptos (APT)
The application scenarios for high-speed public chains will expand significantly, especially in the areas of cross-border payments and consumer finance stablecoin applications, which may first explode on these chains.
5️⃣ RWA assets: The absolute windfall of real assets on-chain
Ondo Finance (ONDO)
The GENIUS Act requires stablecoins to be backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, and Ondo's USDY happens to be a representative of 'tokenization of U.S. Treasury bonds.' In the future, USDY is likely to become the 'standard reserve tool' for stablecoin issuers.
Mlion.ai's data panel shows that in the past 30 days, Ondo's on-chain circulation has increased by more than 18%, with platform yields stabilizing at 4.8%, and regulatory support will open the doors to its compliant capital market.
Great Power Strategy: The dollar's digital new attire, the implicit support of U.S. Treasury bonds
Many people have yet to realize that this is not just a regulatory bill, but a prelude to a currency war.
The dollar still dominates global payments, but U.S. export strength needs the 'weak dollar' to safeguard it.
Stablecoins perfectly resolve this contradiction: maintaining dollar hegemony externally while alleviating deficit expansion internally.
The brilliance behind the GENIUS Act is:
Feeding U.S. Treasury bonds to stablecoin issuers to resolve immediate needs;
Encourage the use of stablecoins for global settlement without the need for the Federal Reserve's balance sheet expansion;
Bypass SWIFT and traditional financial barriers to replicate the 'digital dollar order' globally.
This is not a technical choice but a global strategy - to let the dollar, with a new carrier, continue to dominate liquidity globally.
Conclusion: Is this the knock of a bull market or a new landscape for crypto order?
The GENIUS Act is not the end; it is the 'alpha signal' for the crypto world moving towards compliance. After building a bridge between the dollar, regulations, trading structures, and real finance, the fuel for the next round of market trends is continuously accumulating.
Next, we will see:
Which coins are seeing funds flow into?
Which chains can accommodate the arrival of 'compliant funds'?
Which protocols will find their roles in the new order?
Mlion.ai suggests users leverage the coin risk rating model, regulatory tracking module, and stablecoin fund flow visualization tools, combined with on-chain data to prepare for this round of structural market.
Remember - opportunities never knock; they always disguise themselves as 'policies.' Now, the door has been opened.
Disclaimer: The above content is for information sharing only and does not constitute any investment advice!
