- The GENIUS Act was set for final Senate voting before moving to the House of Representatives.
- JP Morgan filed for a ‘JPMD’ stablecoin trademark, underscoring upcoming U.S. competition.
The stablecoin bill, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, will hit its final homestretch on the Senate floor on the 17th of June.
After the passage, the bill will head to the House of Representatives for consideration, followed by a presidential action before it can become a law.
Source: Senate Cloakroom/X
The bill seeks to offer a clear regulatory framework for ‘payment stablecoins’ or digital dollars by balancing innovation and consumer protection.
JP Morgan eyes U.S. stablecoin sector
While drumming support from his colleagues, Senator Bill Hagerty, the bill’s sponsor, stated,
“The GENIUS Act is going to propel America’s payment system into the 21st century. Let’s make history.”
Some key amendments made in the bill included consumer protection, bankruptcy, and ethics.
Reacting to the potential Senate passage of the bill, ETF Store’s Nate Geraci expected Ethereum [ETH] to be a key beneficiary and noted,
“US Senate likely to pass stablecoin legislation tomorrow & most people still don’t know what ether is…So early.”
His comment was related to the Ethereum chain’s dominance in stablecoin supply. The chain controls 50% of the $250 billion stablecoin sector, followed by TRON’s [TRX] 31% market share.
Source: DeFiLlama
In fact, most experts, before Circle’s stock CRCL debuted, viewed ETH as an indirect investment exposure to the booming stablecoin sector.
That said, Ethereum top traders on Binance remained bullish but reduced long positions from 76% to 74%. Perhaps this was related to repositioning due to evolving Israel-Iran tensions and not the advancement of the GENIUS Act.
Source: CoinGlass
Amongst the top stablecoin contenders, Tether’s USDT commands the market with nearly $155B in market cap.
Circle’s USDC is the second-largest digital dollar, with $61 billion. With Circle’s remarkable IPO success, the stablecoin mania may just be starting. Circle’s CRCL rallied from $31 to $165, posting over 400% gain to shareholders.
Traditional players now want to be part of the market too. In fact, JP Morgan Chase bank recently filed for a stablecoin trademark for ‘JPMD,’ underscoring intense competition ahead.
For BitMEX founder, Arthur Hayes, CRCL was ‘overvalued’ at the current level, but added that,
“The listing marks the beginning not the end of this cycle’s stablecoin mania. The bubble will pop after the launch of a stablecoin issuer on a public market, most likely in the US.”
He noted that Tether had stronger network effects compared to Circle and will retain its moat in the Global South.
To put it simply, Hayes expected the explosive run in CRCL stock and other related stablecoin plays to fizzle out when the likes of JP Morgan debut their stablecoin versions.
