The biggest shockwave in crypto this week wasn’t from Bitcoin or an ETF—it was legislation. On June 17th, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, and the market wasted no time reacting.
$Circle Internet Corp.(CRCL)$ stock soared 33% in a day. $Coinbase Global, Inc.(COIN)$ jumped over 16%. Meanwhile, $Visa(V)$ shed more than $30 billion in market cap overnight. The message was clear: a new era of payments is starting, and not everyone is invited to the party.
So, what exactly is the GENIUS Act?
Officially titled the "Guiding and Enabling National Innovation of Uniform Stablecoins", the act is the first federal-level legislation that gives stablecoins a legitimate regulatory framework in the U.S.
It creates a two-tier regulatory system:
Tier 1: For issuers with less than $10 billion in circulation, regulation falls to the states—similar to current money transmitter laws.
Tier 2: If the issuance exceeds $10 billion, federal oversight kicks in via the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency). These issuers must meet stricter requirements: high-quality liquid reserves, monthly disclosures, and third-party audits.
The law also bans risky collateral (no crypto assets, commercial paper, or DeFi yields), allows only cash, short-term Treasuries, and central bank reserves as backing. And importantly, interest-bearing stablecoins are prohibited—a measure designed to avoid competing with banks or creating systemic risk.
Stablecoins are now legally recognized as a payment tool, not an investment vehicle. You can’t earn yield, but you can use them as cheap, fast, programmable cash.
Circle is the biggest winner.
USDC’s long-standing 1:1 model with full fiat reserves—once considered conservative—has now become the gold standard. And Circle’s new product, CPN (Circle Payments Network), is positioned as a direct alternative to VisaNet and Mastercard. With legal clarity now in place, corporate adoption could scale fast.
Coinbase is riding the same wave.
Its Layer 2 chain Base has already been used by JPMorgan to issue JPMD (a tokenized deposit). Meanwhile, Coinbase Payments, launched last week, is designed to help merchants and creators accept stablecoins natively. GENIUS makes USDC the default “legally clean” currency for all of these applications.
Even banks are getting in on the action. JPMorgan, Bank of America, and others are exploring their own stablecoin projects or forming private stablecoin networks. GENIUS gives them the green light to start.
But not everyone’s celebrating.
Traditional payment giants like Visa and Mastercard took a major hit. Their value proposition—global clearing networks and settlement infrastructure—is directly threatened by stablecoins. With USDC, there’s no need for T+2 settlement, no 2%–3% card fees, and no FX markups.
PayPal is also in trouble. While they’ve launched PYUSD, it’s nowhere near USDC in adoption, liquidity, or brand strength. Their business model relied on closed-loop systems and account balances—but open, portable stablecoins break that moat wide open.
Investors are now re-rating these legacy payment stocks. If USDC is now a “legal option”, then Visa and Mastercard are no longer the “mandatory infrastructure.”
Visa is partnering with Solana and Circle, working on on-chain settlements and launching their Tokenized Asset Platform for financial institutions. Mastercard is building its Multi-Token Network to become the middleware for CBDCs, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits. PayPal is trying to grow PYUSD via Shopify and cross-border remittances.
The future payment stack will be modular and composable—Stripe + Circle + Visa Direct might be tomorrow’s new backend.
What’s Next? Three Waves of Disruption Are Coming
The GENIUS Act hasn’t yet passed the House, but assuming it does, the market should expect a ripple effect across three dimensions:
Wave 1: Infrastructure Migration
Banks issue programmable deposits
Merchants integrate USDC APIs
Instant settlements bypass traditional gateways
Wave 2: Business Model Rewrites
Uber & Airbnb automate payments using smart contracts
Walmart launches its own coin for loyalty and payment
Freelancers and remote workers get paid in USDC
Wave 3: Global Currency Power Shift
USDC becomes the “functional dollar” in emerging markets (Argentina, Nigeria, Turkey)
Local regulators adapt: sandbox rules, FX registration, licensing
Central banks accelerate CBDC pilots to keep pace
Bottom Line:
This bill isn’t just about crypto—it’s the start of a new monetary OS.It makes money programmable, auditable, composable—and shifts the power from old networks to open rails.
Circle is the immediate winner. But long-term, this is about who understands the intersection of payments, compliance, and infrastructure. Those who get that will own the rails of digital money 2.0.
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