In the past, people's impression of stablecoins, to be honest, was not very good. Many felt they were opaque and unregulated, and even mainstream stablecoins like USDT and USDC have often been questioned: Do they really have full reserves? Who is responsible if something goes wrong?
But now, the U.S. has started to take action.
The U.S. Senate ultimately passed the Stablecoin Genius Act with a vote of 68 to 30.
Why is it so important? Because this bill is not a ban, but an attempt at 'systematic regulation'.
The GENIUS Act requires all dollar stablecoins to have a 1:1 full reserve, with assets limited to cash or short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. 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, it must enter the federal regulatory system. Stablecoins are already being 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 overtaken by other CBDCs. Therefore, it chooses to directly set the rules, first 'incorporating' stablecoins and then pushing them globally.
The real impact of this bill goes beyond the blockchain:
1️⃣ Improve the transparency of stablecoins and rebuild market trust
2️⃣ Provide traditional financial institutions with a compliance path
3️⃣ Projects face higher compliance thresholds, leading to reduced innovation
In a sense, this is a reshuffling. Stablecoins will resemble real-world 🏦 products more and will no longer just be a 'medium of exchange' in crypto, but may become a key bridge between the real world and the blockchain world.
For example, in and out of funds. In the past, many users could only rely on OTC and gray channels. Now, if compliant stablecoins can connect directly to bank accounts, the barriers for payments, cross-border transactions, and on-chain settlements will significantly lower. This is the real key to driving stablecoins into the mainstream.
Of course, not everyone supports this approach. Some worry that excessive regulation will stifle innovation and turn crypto into a mere appendage of the financial industry. Moreover, if only a few giants are licensed to issue compliant stablecoins, what remains of 'decentralization'?
However, in my view, this may be a compromise that must be made. There has to be a balance among regulation, user trust, institutional entry, and technological innovation.
What the Genius Act brings is neither purely beneficial nor a direct negative, but rather the establishment of a new order.
#GENIUS稳定币法案 #稳定币立法
