In the summer of 2025, the GENIUS Act, the CLARITY Act, and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act were successively debated and passed in Congress. These bills attempt to simultaneously address the conflicting issues of fostering financial innovation and concerns over excessive surveillance, while promoting market integrity and user protection. The U.S. aims to maintain the dollar's status as the reserve currency while leading rule-making in new sectors. The impact on the global cryptocurrency market remains to be seen.
The U.S. has clarified terms and systems through legislation to organize the rapidly growing stablecoin market, mandating issuers to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering regulations, and to regularly disclose reserve assets and provide audit reports. Furthermore, in the event of bankruptcy, holders are guaranteed priority access to the backed assets, enhancing transparency and user protection.
This regulatory approach aims to sift through healthy issuers and high-risk players, thereby enhancing trust in the financial system. However, the costs associated with obtaining permissions and maintaining audits could pose barriers to entry for small issuers and emerging startups. Regulation may lead to market concentration, and how to balance competition with innovation will be a focal point.
Through such legislative measures, the U.S. has clearly outlined its strategy to establish global dominance in the stablecoin market. The potential to influence international standard-setting is significant, and the responses of policies and businesses in various countries, including Japan, will be increasingly under scrutiny.
