US prosecutors say GENIUS Act bolsters stablecoin firms while leaving fraud victims exposed
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Regulatory Fault Lines Are Reordering Stablecoins — GENIUS Act and MiCA Point Toward a Two-Tier Future
New U.S. and EU rules are redefining what it means for a stablecoin to function as cash by hardening redemption rights and access to reserves under stress. The result will be a bifurcated market where legally protected, highly liquid tokens behave like money in crises while other issuers trade like credit instruments when redemption pressure rises.
U.S. White House Brokers Crypto Talks as Stablecoin Yield Fight Stalls Progress
The White House convened senior industry and banking representatives to try to bridge a standoff over whether stablecoins should be allowed to offer yield, but negotiators left without resolving the core dispute and were pressed to deliver concrete drafting proposals within weeks. The effort comes amid wavering industry endorsements, paused committee activity and tactical bargaining over items such as conditioning the law’s effective date on CFTC staffing, all of which heighten the odds of delay absent rapid technical compromises.
Standard Chartered Flags Stablecoins as a Growing Threat to Bank Deposit Bases
Standard Chartered’s analysis warns that expanding dollar-pegged stablecoins could erode material shares of bank deposit bases and compress net interest-margin income, particularly for regional U.S. banks. The paper also highlights how central-bank policy choices — as signalled recently by South Korea’s authorities — and where issuers park reserves will determine whether stablecoins produce domestic deposit outflows or mainly cross-border capital-flow effects.
CFTC Expands Eligible Stablecoin Issuers to Include National Trust Banks
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reissued a staff letter clarifying that national trust banks may qualify as issuers under its payment-stablecoin framework, aligning agency guidance with recent legislative guardrails. However, Congress’s unsettled negotiating dynamics and procedural hurdles mean statutory fixes and broader jurisdictional clarity remain uncertain, which could slow some market responses.
Davos Cold Shoulder: Big U.S. Banks Push Back on Coinbase Over Stablecoin Rules
At Davos, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was met with curt and dismissive responses from several leading U.S. bank chiefs as he lobbied against language in an active Senate stablecoin bill. The exchanges at the World Economic Forum track with a broader, paused CLARITY Act process — including a looming Agriculture Committee markup and a White House convening — that will decide whether non-bank platforms can offer repeat, interest‑like payouts on stablecoins.
Ethereum sees surge in tiny stablecoin transfers after Fusaka upgrade, raising security alarms
A recent protocol enhancement that lowered transaction costs on Ethereum coincided with a sharp rise in tiny stablecoin transfers that appear designed to confuse users and inflate activity metrics. Researchers warn the pattern inflates headline usage numbers and has resulted in measurable financial losses for some users while most stablecoin activity remains legitimate.
U.S. Pushes to Lead Crypto Markets While Developer Liability Casts a Long Shadow
The administration is promoting a pro‑crypto agenda—highlighting stablecoin legislation and coordinated SEC–CFTC work—to assert U.S. leadership in digital assets. But persistent prosecutions of protocol authors, intercommittee objections to developer exemptions and a pulled markup on key bills have created a gap between policy intent and enforcement reality that may push builders and capital abroad.
SEC guidance lets broker-dealers apply a 2% haircut to stablecoin holdings
The SEC's trading-and-markets staff said it would not object if broker-dealers applied a 2% haircut to proprietary stablecoin positions, easing a major capital burden. Industry observers say the clarification could lower costs, speed settlement, and accelerate stablecoins' assimilation into traditional finance while regulatory and custody risks remain.