The United States Congress adopts a framework law on stablecoins: towards enhanced regulation of the crypto ecosystem

The U.S. Congress recently passed historic legislation aimed at legally regulating the issuance and use of stablecoins, these cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to a fiat currency, particularly the US dollar.

The law establishes a clear regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, notably imposing:

The mandatory holding of liquid reserves for any USD-pegged stablecoin, thus ensuring a 1:1 backing with safe assets (treasury, treasury bills, bank deposits).

Compliance with existing laws on anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC).

The classification of stablecoins issued by banking institutions as banking products, subject exclusively to the supervision of prudential banking regulators (such as the OCC or FDIC).

The strict prohibition on members of Congress and their families from profiting directly or indirectly from the issuance or holding of stablecoins, in order to avoid any conflict of interest.

Impacts on the cryptocurrency industry:

1. Strengthening institutional trust:

By legally regulating stablecoins, this law encourages the entry of institutional capital, which requires strong regulatory guarantees to interact with digital assets.

2. Natural selection of issuers:

Only actors with transparent balance sheets, robust governance, and the ability to maintain liquid reserves will be able to continue issuing regulated stablecoins. This could marginalize offshore or opaque issuers.

3. Alignment with the traditional financial system:

The integration of bank-backed stablecoins into the regulatory sphere could promote their use in payments, international transfers, and DeFi solutions interconnected with banks.

4. Towards global standardization:

The U.S. position could serve as a model for other jurisdictions (EU, Asia, Latin America), fostering medium-term global harmonization of rules related to stablecoins.

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