Time to Make Stablecoins Great Again – unless you’re Tether.
The world’s largest stablecoin, with a $120B market cap, looks like it could be left hanging after the US Senate moved to introduce the GENIUS stablecoin bill.
The bill focuses heavily on improving protections for US consumers, and edges the playing field for US-domiciled stablecoin issuers like Ripple (stablecoin: $RLUSD) and Circle (stablecoin: $USDC).
But Tether is currently based in El Salvador. So what does the bill mean for USDT – and the pile of $BTC and other cryptos Tether uses to support its industry-leading stablecoin?
Time to dig into the details of the Crypto President’s latest push – and why crypto presales like Meme Index might give investors an advantage amid a rapidly-changing crypto economy.
GENIUS Bill: ‘America First’ for Stablecoins?
The GENIUS Act gives preference to US-based stablecoins and has been met with mixed reviews, both positive and negative.
Negatively, the bill proposes to bring stablecoins firmly under the oversight of the Federal Reserve:
For issuers of more than $10B worth of stablecoins, it applies the Federal Reserve’s regulatory framework to depository institutions and the Office of the Controller of the Currency’s framework for non-bank issuers.
For crypto purists, this goes against the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies, but it should clear up some jurisdiction issues, at least.
On the positive side, the bill ‘secures stablecoin issuers’ ability to choose between state and national charters,’ providing two possible frameworks, at least for stablecoins with a total market cap under $10B.
That possibility dramatically increases the power of US state authorities to regulate smaller stablecoins largely independently. The bill even includes a waiver process that would allow larger stablecoin issuers, or stablecoins that grow beyond the $10B threshold to remain under state control.
Is an era of US state-back stablecoins about to emerge? Is anyone up for some California USD – $CAUSD, perhaps?
Can $USDT Adjust to Changing Rules?
Reporting on the initial framework included mention of a JP Morgan analysis, which concluded that Tether might be forced to sell some of its assets to include more GENIUS-compliant assets, including US Treasury bills, to fully back its $USDT tokens.
Tether downplayed the problem on social media, calling JP Morgan ‘salty’ that it didn’t buy $BTC cheap. Tether currently holds over 94K $BTC valued at $7.6B, per Arkham Intelligence.
Tether’s own reports on its Q4 2024 performance note that the company already holds over $94.4B in US treasuries, either directly or indirectly.
Only a week ago, Tether finally announced the appointment of Simon McWilliams as CFO with the remit to undertake a full audit of the company. It’s a move the company had previously neglected to take.
There’s also a distinct element of control in the GENIUS draft. The bill would require stablecoin issuers to be able to control payments in their own stablecoins, including stopping them if required (better interpreted as ‘if ordered’), and to identify accounts and account holders.
Or put a different way, by setting up both federal and state charters, the bill gives each set of US authorities the power, even the requirement, to control stablecoins as digital assets within their jurisdiction.
Meme Index: Adjust Your Memecoin Investment Strategy
The memecoin market remains popular, with a $45B market cap, and investors are constantly searching for the newest and best meme coins to buy.
But navigating a market with thousands of tokens, where new meme coins come and go each day, is a challenge for all but the most dedicated traders.
Meme Index provides a solution to the same problem Tether faces; adjusting to changing markets and regulations on the fly.
$MEMEX holders can allocate their tokens to one of four different memecoin indexes – Meme Frenzy, Meme Midcap, Meme Moonshot, and Meme Titan. Each index is tailored to a different level of risk and volatility, letting you adapt your investment strategy in light of market changes.
Do your own research, of course; none of this is financial advice, and the crypto market is always volatile. But don’t underestimate the power of Meme Index to adjust your portfolio as the market moves.
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