Latest news with #cryptoregulation
Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ethereum's Future Is Now, Co-Founder Lubin Says
Bloomberg Markets: The Close Joe Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and ConsenSys, discusses the adoption of Ether compared to Bitcoin and the outlook for crypto regulation on "Bloomberg The Close." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ethereum's Future Is Now, Co-Founder Lubin Says
Joe Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and ConsenSys, discusses the adoption of Ether compared to Bitcoin and the outlook for crypto regulation on "Bloomberg The Close."
Crypto Insight
a day ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
GENIUS Act to spark wave of ‘killer apps' and new payment services: Sygnum
The GENIUS Act is poised to change the stablecoin landscape by steering issuers away from yield-based models and toward payment-focused use cases, according to Sygnum chief investment officer Fabian Dori. 'The GENIUS Act was recently amended to create a clear separation between interest/yield-bearing stablecoins and those used for payments,' Dori told Cointelegraph. He said this brings the US framework closer to the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, laying the foundation for 'global consensus.' Dori added that the real impact of the GENIUS Act goes beyond regulation. 'By providing long-sought-after clarity, it gives confidence to organizations and issuers to develop original, innovative 'killer apps' that don't just serve their customers' current needs, but create demand for entirely new services, including payments,' he said. That confidence appears to be translating into growing demand. Giants like Mastercard and PayPal have laid the groundwork for compliant stablecoin use, and companies such as Amazon and Walmart are exploring applications in payroll and cross-border settlements. He noted that tokenized money market funds are the better fit for investors chasing returns. These funds, which offer a stable value and daily liquidity, are currently yielding 4–5% in US Treasury-backed products, without blurring the lines between investment and utility. Stablecoin issuers pivot to utility With interest-bearing stablecoins now restricted, issuers are expected to lean into features like real-time settlement, low transaction costs and programmable capabilities that integrate into payment and trading systems, Dori said. 'Utility beats yield now,' Jason Lau, chief innovation officer at OKX, said. He argued that in an increasingly competitive space, issuers will continue to pursue innovative models to drive adoption and new use cases. Lau also said that the benefits of stablecoin settlement and cross-border efficiency are poised to drive adoption in real-world commerce, with interest from payment giants like PayPal and Stripe signaling just the beginning. Meanwhile, Aishwary Gupta, global head of payment and fintech at Polygon Labs, said the shift toward utility was already 'underway' even before the passage of GENIUS Act. Gupta said Polygon has observed significant growth in payment-focused stablecoin usage, with their micropayment volume rising 67% from February to June, reaching $110 million. He said: 'Regulatory compliance helps, but more important is how it meets real market demand. Payment use cases offer immediate utility and solve actual problems for users, like in cross-border transfers and everyday commerce.' Retail adoption remains key Despite the shift, retail adoption remains a critical factor. 'It's not fintechs that move the needle, but consumer adoption,' Dori said, emphasizing that user-friendly platforms will determine the pace of stablecoin integration. Gupta also highlighted the importance of retail adoption, noting that Polygon is prioritizing stablecoin infrastructure that supports real-world applications, from enabling sub-cent transaction fees for micropayments to scaling performance for enterprise-grade deployments capable of handling over 100,000 transactions per second. The company is also seeing growing momentum in retail and B2B payment integrations. It is currently working with a firm operating 185 million phones across Africa to facilitate cross-border B2B payments. 'We have enterprises with 7-8 million wallets ready to go live,' he said. 'Small payment volumes ($100-$1,000) on Polygon grew 190% to over $563M from February to June. We expect this trend to accelerate in the coming months.' Meanwhile, Lau said DeFi protocols might be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this clarity, as stablecoins already anchor a tremendous amount of activity onchain. 'While there will be some focus on synthetic yields and governance tokens, the opportunity to offer compelling and unique use cases will capture stablecoin demand,' he said. Passed this month with more than 300 House votes, including support from 102 Democrats, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act establishes the first federal framework for stablecoins. Source:
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The GENIUS Act is law. What's next for crypto?
Bitcoin (BTC-USD), ether (ETH-USD), and other crypto stocks are on the rise after President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law. Axios crypto reporter Brady Dale outlines what's next for the industry now that the first major crypto regulation is officially in the books. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts here. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and crypto-related stocks are on the move higher this morning, days after President Trump signed the Genius Act into law, making the first major piece of crypto regulation. Here with more on where crypto goes next is Brady Dale, Axios crypto reporter. So, that was the sort of landmark, Brady, that uh people in the industry pointed to the first big legislative win for them. Um I think there are a lot of questions now about what that unleashes. Like what happens now in terms of tangible products, changes to the industry? What are you watching most closely? Yeah, you know, the thing I'm most interested in is if consumers actually start to adopt stable coins. It's tough to get people to adopt new ways of payments here in the US. But if they do, you know, it could be really good for uh small businesses, retail, which all have a very narrow margin. Stable coins give them a way to have a digital version of actual cash we keep in our pocket. And you know the reason cash is nice for retailers is because it doesn't come with those interchange fees that credit cards have. Well, stable coins will be pretty much the same. And so, uh I think we'll see merchants starting to urge people to adopt stable coins, but who knows if they do. Well, and I mean, don't we have a digital version of cash already, which is just cash, right? Like Venmo and things, you know. There are ways obviously to transact online without credit cards. I guess just not that many. Um so, would this in theory make all of that easier? Yeah, it would make it all it would make it all easier, it would make it all faster, you don't have to have a third party involved. And you know, zooming out from that, um you know, Venmo doesn't work internationally. Um you can't pay people abroad with it. So there's a bunch of other, you know, more boring in the weeds sort of businessy things that we'll see folks use stable coins for. But in terms of like just the average person on the street, the thing I'm curious about is if, you know, normal American consumers start to use it. Um and what are we seeing in terms of the industry sort of preparing for that or trying to push that uh forward? Well, I mean the industry the crypto industry itself has been all in on stable coins for a long time. You know, a lot of them call it the first killer app of blockchains. Uh I think the thing that I'm curious about is, you know, the industry is going to try to own this space. You know, Circle, Tether, they're going to try to be the um, you know, the the Microsoft and Apples of the stable coins future. But uh the thing is, a bunch of the big banks like Bank of America, City, all of them are also talking about getting into the stable coin game. And of course, they have a lot more access to a lot more people, uh more immediately, and they're more trusted names. And so, uh I think it's not so much what the industry does, the existing blockchain industry as it is, like the the banking industry. How do they get into it? Related Videos Crypto on Wall Street: How eth 'unlocks' crypto narrative Sign in to access your portfolio
Crypto Insight
21-07-2025
- Business
- Crypto Insight
GENIUS Act blocks Big Tech, banks from dominating stablecoins: Circle exec
The GENIUS Act contains a little-noticed clause that prevents technology giants and Wall Street behemoths from dominating the stablecoin market, according to Circle Chief Strategy Officer Dante Disparte. 'The GENIUS Act has what I'd like to call — just for my own legacy sake — a Libra clause,' Disparte told the Unchained podcast on Saturday. Any non-bank that wants to mint a dollar-pegged token must spin up 'a standalone entity that looks more like Circle and less like a bank,' clear antitrust hurdles and face a Treasury Department committee with veto power over the launch. Banks don't get a free pass either. Lenders that issue a stablecoin must house it in a legally separate subsidiary and keep the coins on a balance sheet that carries 'no risk-taking, no leverage, no lending,' Disparte noted. That structure is even 'more conservative' than the deposit-token models JPMorgan and others have floated. 'It creates clear rules that I think in the end the biggest winners are the US consumers and market participants and frankly the dollar itself,' he added. GENIUS Act passes with bipartisan backing Passed last week with more than 300 House votes, including support from 102 Democrats, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act gives the dollar 'rules-based' firepower in the global digital-currency race, Disparte argued. 'Crypto is finally getting what it wanted: legitimization, a path for legal and regulatory clarity in the United States and an opportunity to compete,' he said. The bill preserves the patchwork of state money-transmitter laws for issuers under a $10 billion threshold but demands a national trust-bank charter once assets breach that level. Notably, the law bans interest-bearing stablecoins, pushes rigorous disclosure standards and introduces criminal penalties for unbacked 'stable' tokens. Terra-style experiments are 'gone,' Disparte said. However, critics argue the ban on yield could stunt consumer adoption and hand an advantage to overseas issuers. Disparte claimed that yield 'is a secondary-market innovation' better delivered by decentralized finance protocols once the base layer is rock-solid. DeFi gains edge as GENIUS bans yields The GENIUS Act's ban on yield-bearing stablecoins could redirect investor demand toward Ethereum-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. With no interest incentives left in stablecoins, DeFi becomes the primary option for generating passive income onchain, according to analysts like Nic Puckrin and CoinFund's Christopher Perkins, who predicted that 'stablecoin summer' may now evolve into 'DeFi summer.' The ban is especially significant for institutional investors. Unlike retail users, financial institutions have fiduciary duties to generate returns, making yield opportunities essential. Analysts suggest this could lead to a surge in institutional capital flowing into DeFi, particularly on Ethereum, which dominates total value locked in the sector. Source:
