It's Done: Trump Signs The Very First US Law On Stablecoins

Washington, summer 2025. In a frantic week, Donald Trump fired up Congress, set the Senate ablaze, and put the finishing touch on what will be remembered as the GENIUS Act. His most crypto-compatible legislative weapon, signed in an East Room filled with cameras. The president didn’t just tweet his intentions: he picked up the phone to convince, one by one, the Republican opponents. And on Friday, July 18, he did it: the United States becomes the first Western country to regulate stablecoins at the federal level.

Dollar 2.0: The American Genius Wants to Stay in Control

When the president signs, it’s not just a text he seals: he also locks in, as with the 35% surtax recently imposed on Canada, a strategic vision of economic power in the digital age. This is a geopolitical vision he engraves. “This may be the greatest technological revolution since the Internet,” he declared emphatically.

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) creates a new legal category for these digital currencies indexed to the dollar. Objective: to secure their use while boosting their adoption, notably by regulating mandatory reserves and banning yield-bearing stablecoins.

With this framework, the Treasury aims to strengthen the dollar’s status as the global currency, while stimulating demand for Treasury bonds to back these assets. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even refers to it as a new tool to broaden access to the dollar economy and to boost global demand for T-Bills.

Stablecoins in Everyone’s Hands: Crypto Comes Into Daily Life

Trump has never hidden his ambitions for the crypto industry. Once skeptical, he is now its loudest supporter. His promise? To make the United States the crypto capital of the world. His bet: to anchor it in citizens’ everyday lives. And with the GENIUS Act, he wants to bring stablecoins closer to the shopping cart.

Now, banks, neobanks, and credit unions will be able to issue their own stablecoins. No more legal ambiguity: the law regulates their backing by the dollar and requires monthly publication of reserves. For Senator Bill Hagerty, this framework will allow Americans to make their payments almost instantly, instead of taking several days.

Present at the signing: Circle, Robinhood, Gemini, Tether… All hail a historic breakthrough. The president, jokingly, couldn’t resist a jab:

They named it after me. Thank you all. It’s quite a law.

Behind the Feat, the Flaws: What the Democrats Denounce

But behind the spotlight, voices rise. Because while the GENIUS Act regulates stablecoins, it doesn’t prevent certain gray areas.

• 60% of World Liberty Financial, issuer of the USD1 stablecoin, is owned by a company close to the Trumps;
• 245 million dollars: what the crypto industry spent supporting pro-crypto candidates in 2024;
• 6 months: the deadline given to regulators to publish final rules;
• 308 votes for, 122 against: the law passes with strong Republican support… but Democratic fractures.;
• No ban for digital giants launching their own stablecoins.

Representative Maxine Waters denounces a dangerous ambiguity: the text creates the illusion of a framework but doesn’t give the government the means to regulate effectively. For Scott Greytak of Transparency International, this partial framework “could turn the United States into a digital tax haven for criminals and hostile regimes.”

Americans can now pay their rent in stablecoins, but this is just the beginning. Trump is refining an explosive measure: opening 401(k) plans to bitcoin. A move that could channel billions into the crypto industry and forever disrupt household savings.