Today (local time June 17), the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, establishing a federal regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins. The bill requires stablecoins to be fully backed by high-quality, liquid reserve assets, prohibits algorithmic stablecoins, and forbids paying yields to holders. Issuers will be subject to tiered regulation: those exceeding 10 billion USD will be federally regulated, while smaller issuers can opt for state-level regulation. Stablecoin holders will have priority creditor status in bankruptcy.

The total market capitalization of stablecoins exceeds 250 billion USD, mainly dominated by Tether and Circle. Circle's market value is 37 billion USD, with its stock price rising over 400% since listing. Annual stablecoin transaction volume exceeds 30 trillion USD, with 261 million active addresses. 81% of small and medium-sized enterprises familiar with cryptocurrency are interested in using stablecoins, and the number of Fortune 500 companies adopting stablecoins has more than tripled. Stablecoin transfers in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa have grown over 40% annually.

The European Union, Singapore, and Hong Kong have all advanced stablecoin regulation. The passage of the GENIUS Act may break the regulatory deadlock in the U.S. Regulated stablecoin issuers will benefit, while those issuing non-fiat-backed stablecoins or promising yields may exit the U.S. market. The era of offshore regulatory arbitrage for stablecoins is ending; Tether faces challenges but is unlikely to be replaced in the short term. The bill promotes stablecoins as legitimate financial instruments, facilitating capital inflows and retail adoption.

The next step is House review and potential amendments, with regulatory rules to be developed by the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, and other agencies. State-level actions are also worth watching.