US President Donald Trump signed a regulatory framework for the dollar cryptocurrencies on Friday, called Stablecoins, marking a key step that could open the way to daily use of these digital assets for payments and money transfers.
The text, baptized Genius Act, was adopted by 308 votes to 122, gathering the support of almost half of the Democratic members and the majority of Republicans.
This law represents a major victory for the supporters of cryptocurrencies, who have long campaigned for such a framework in order to give more legitimacy to a sector born in 2009, often perceived as a digital far West, renowned for its innovation and frantic speculation.
“This signature is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneer spirit,” said Trump during a ceremony in the presence of several managers in the crypto sector.
Stablecoins are designed to maintain a constant value, generally indexed 1: 1 on the US dollar. Their use has exploded, especially with crypto traders who transfer funds between different tokens. The industry now hopes that they will become a common way to send and receive payments instantly.
The new law requires that stablecoins be guaranteed by liquid assets – such as US dollars or short -term treasure bills – and that transmitters publish the composition of their reserves each month.
Companies and managers in the sector believe that such a legislation will strengthen the credibility of stablecoins and encourage banks, traders and consumers to use them for instant funds.
The Stablecoins market, which the Coingecko data supplier estimates more than $ 260 billion, could reach $ 2,000 billion by 2028 thanks to this new law, according to an estimate of the Standard Bank Chartered published earlier this year.
The adoption of this law crosses years of lobbying on the part of the industry, which paid more than $ 245 million in last year’s elections to support Pro-Crypto candidates, including Trump, according to figures from the Federal Electoral Commission.
The Republican President, who has since launched his own cryptocurrency, approached the sector and said at a crypto conference during his presidential campaign that he would make from the United States “the world capital of the crypto”.
However, democrats and criticisms believe that the law should have prohibited large technological companies from issuing their own stablecoins, which would risk increasing the influence of an already powerful sector. They would also have wished more stringent measures against money laundering and the ban on foreign stablecoins issuers.
Potential increase in demand for treasury bills
Large American banks debate internally with a possible foray into cryptocurrencies, while regulators provide increased support for digital assets, but their first steps should remain cautious, via pilot programs, partnerships or limited crypto trading, reported Reuters in May.
At the same time, several Crypto companies, including Circle and Ripple, seek to obtain banking licenses. This would allow them to pay payments faster, reduce costs by bypassing intermediate banks, and strengthening their legitimacy.
Text defenders believe that it could also generate a new source of demand for short -term American public debt, stablecoin issuers having to buy more treasury bills to guarantee their assets.
Others are concerned, however, of the risk of increasing volatility in the treasury bill market. In an April note, JPMorgan analysts believed that stable -co -emitters could become, in the coming years, the third largest buyer of treasury bills.
Trump creates a bitcoin reserve
Trump has undertaken a global overhaul of American policy on cryptocurrencies, signing a decree in March aimed at establishing a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.
The president has invested himself in digital assets, launching in January a same corner called $ Trump and partially holding Crypto World Liberty Financial.
The Democrats in the Congress have been more and more critical in front of Trump and his relatives for the promotion of their personal personal projects, a controversy that almost had the legislation derail at some point.
The White House assured that there was no conflict of interests for Trump and that his assets were placed in a trust managed by his children.
