GENIUS Act

Stablecoins

2026-10-03 08:36:07

IOSG says stablecoin profits are shifting from issuance to distribution

IOSG researcher Darko argues that the most important question in stablecoins is no longer who issues them, but who controls distribution. In a long-form analysis reposted by WuBlockchain, the paper says stablecoin economics are built on reserve income, yet the right to keep that income is increasingly determined by wallets, exchanges, brokerages, payment networks and other user-facing channels. The article links that shift to the regulatory and market backdrop now forming in the U.S. It cites the GENIUS Act, effective July 18, 2025, as the first federal framework for payment stablecoins, then points to OCC actions involving Circle, Ripple and Paxos, as well as the launch of Open USD in June 2026 with more than 140 participants including Visa and Mastercard. Stablecoins, the piece says, did not suddenly improve at the technical level; large institutions finally understood what they can do. The report also argues that headline transaction volumes overstate real-world usage, that reserve-based issuer profits are highly sensitive to falling rates, and that the strongest signal in the market may be Circle’s unchanged renewal terms with Coinbase through 2029. Its conclusion is straightforward: issuance may become standardized, but distribution, customer ownership and access points are where pricing power is likely to remain.

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a16z crypto

2026-10-01 06:41:41

a16z crypto policy lead says GENIUS Act would cement onchain finance

Miles Jennings, global head of policy at a16z crypto, said the U.S. GENIUS Act would help cement the permanence of blockchain-based finance by strengthening the regulatory framework for stablecoins. He also said the measure would support stability in global markets. Jennings made the remarks at the Global Blockchain Summit in Seoul, South Korea. According to his comments, the bill would make the shift toward onchain finance harder to reverse. The report was cited by Techub News and attributed to Crypto Briefing.

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Policy Regula

2026-10-01 00:45:55

Mark Moss says Bitcoin is still rising after the Fed hike as institutions buy and retail sells

Bitcoin is still climbing even after the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike, according to comments from Market Disruptors podcast host Mark Moss cited by Bitcoin Magazine. Moss said many people are misreading the reason behind higher long-term rates, arguing that a strong economy could be one explanation rather than a purely negative signal for risk assets. He also said Bitcoin is benefiting from both a currency-debasement trade and a bullish view on the future of technology. Moss pointed to the United States’ $40 trillion debt load and described a monetary reset as a process rather than a single event. He said there are four possible ways to address the debt problem and flagged the 2029 to 2030 period as a key window to watch. In the same discussion, he touched on stablecoins and the Genius Act, saying roughly 6 billion people around the world want to hold U.S. dollars. Moss also said institutions are buying Bitcoin while retail investors are selling, and cited Bitcoin’s S-curve and compound annual growth rate in laying out a $1 million price target.

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USA₮

2026-09-30 13:51:55

USA₮ supply reached 175.73 million by Aug. 31, reserve report shows

USA₮ said in an official announcement that a reserve report issued by Anchorage Digital Bank showed the stablecoin’s circulating supply reached 175.73 million tokens as of Aug. 31. That was up nearly 10x from 17.5 million at the end of January. The report listed total reserve assets at $176.4 million, exceeding the value of tokens in circulation by $660,000. USA₮ is issued by federally chartered bank Anchorage Digital Bank, with support from Tether. The announcement also said the product meets the requirements of the GENIUS Act. The figures were cited by ChainCatcher from the official disclosure.

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Tether

2026-09-30 10:45:28

Tether’s excess reserves fell by half in one quarter as gold and Bitcoin holdings came under pressure

Tether’s reserve report for the quarter ended June 30 showed excess reserves of about $4.11 billion, down from $8.23 billion on March 31, a drop of 50.1% in a single quarter. The article ties much of that decline to lower gold and Bitcoin prices, while also pointing to the company’s secured loan exposure, which remained large relative to its capital cushion. At the same time, Tether and London-based Fasanara Capital announced StableFund, a private credit fund launched with $400 million in seed capital and a target of raising as much as $3 billion from third-party institutions. The release did not disclose how much of the initial capital came from Tether or whether that money sat inside or outside USDT reserves. The piece also compares Tether’s structure with the requirements of the GENIUS Act, which limits what qualifying payment stablecoin issuers can hold as reserves and restricts the reuse of those reserves. It argues that the next reserve report, expected around late October, will be closely watched for changes in excess reserves, secured loans, and the treatment of StableFund commitments.

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US Treasury

2026-09-29 10:15:14

U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary Luke Pettit to Leave in October

Luke Pettit, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and acting Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, is set to leave his post in October and move to the private sector. Pettit had previously led work on the Trump Accounts children’s account program. He was also involved in work related to the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act. The personnel change touches a Treasury official who had a role in several policy efforts tied to financial institutions and legislative work. No additional details on his next destination in the private sector were disclosed in the source report.

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Federal Reser

2026-09-29 04:04:47

Fed Stablecoin Proposal Spells Out 1:1 Reserves, Two-Day Redemptions and Weekly Reporting

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Sept. 24, 2026 released two stablecoin proposals that move payment stablecoin oversight from broad statutory language into day-to-day operating rules. One proposal sets detailed standards for reserve assets, redemption timing, capital, custody and ongoing reporting. The other creates an application process for Fed-supervised banks that want to establish stablecoin issuance subsidiaries. Under the draft, issuers would need to value reserves at fair value at least once a day as of 5 p.m. in the supervising Reserve Bank’s time zone and keep reserve value at no less than the redemption amount of outstanding stablecoins. Eligible reserve assets are narrowly defined, including cash, balances held at Federal Reserve Banks, qualifying bank deposits, U.S. Treasuries with remaining maturities of no more than 93 days, qualifying overnight repo and reverse repo transactions, and certain money market funds. The proposal would also require issuers to publish redemption policies and complete payment no later than two business days after receiving a valid redemption request. It introduces daily credit-risk capital calculations, quarterly operational-risk capital calculations, a $5 million minimum capital floor for new issuers, weekly confidential operating reports, quarterly financial and revenue reports with management certification, and annual AML and sanctions compliance certification. For bank applicants, the Fed would have 30 days to determine whether an application is substantially complete and, in principle, 120 days to make a decision once the filing is complete.

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Stablecoins

2026-09-28 15:28:35

Stablecoin profits hinge less on issuance than on who controls distribution

A long-form analysis by IOSG partner Darko argues that the core battle in stablecoins is no longer just about who issues the token, but who owns the customer relationship and the distribution channel. The piece tracks how the business model is split across reserve income, transaction fees and infrastructure revenue, then uses Circle, Coinbase, Paxos, USDG, Open USD, Hyperliquid and Tether to show where bargaining power actually sits. The article says stablecoins have become the first crypto product with broad real-world use, but headline transfer numbers still overstate actual payments. It points to 2026 data showing supply could shrink even as adjusted transfer activity hit new highs, with faster velocity reducing the amount of idle balances needed to support volume. That dynamic matters because issuers earn mainly on reserves sitting still, not on dollars moving. Against that backdrop, the report argues that distribution partners capture a large share of economics. Circle’s renewed agreement with Coinbase, unchanged through 2029, is presented as the clearest proof that control over users matters more than federal licensing alone. The piece also examines how falling interest rates can sharply compress issuer profits, why tokenized Treasuries and compliance layers matter, and why the biggest beneficiary of stablecoin growth may ultimately be U.S. Treasury bill demand.

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