Industry News
U.S. President Signs GENIUS Act, Establishing First Federal Stablecoin Oversight. President Donald Trump approved the landmark Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, creating a comprehensive U.S. framework for payment stablecoins. The law lets banks and licensed non-banks issue dollar-pegged coins under strict 1:1 reserve rules (cash or Treasuries) and bans interest-bearing stablecoins, ushering in a “long-awaited” era of regulatory legitimacy for dollar tokens.
Western Union Embraces Stablecoins for Faster Remittances and Wallet Services. Money transfer giant Western Union is exploring stablecoin on-ramps, off-ramps, and even its digital wallet as part of a broader fintech pivot. CEO Devin McGranahan said in a Bloomberg interview that stablecoins are “an opportunity, not a threat,” for cross-border payments, noting that converting crypto dollars into local currency (e.g., “buying a Coca Cola” with stablecoins) could be a key new service for the 174-year-old firm. “Last I checked, you couldn’t spend stablecoin if you wanted to buy a Coca-Cola…converting stablecoins into fiat…is an opportunity for us,” McGranahan quipped.
PayPal Launches ‘PayPal World’ Platform to Link 2 Billion Wallet Users Across Borders. PayPal unveiled a cross-border payments network called PayPal World to connect major domestic wallets (India’s UPI, China’s WeChat/Tenpay, LATAM’s Mercado Pago, etc.) with PayPal and Venmo’s merchant base. Rolling out this fall, the platform enables consumers to pay global merchants using their local wallet and currency, targeting ~2 billion users and over $ 240 billion in monthly local payment volume. Stablecoin integration is planned for the future, as PayPal hints that it will add tokenized money once it “owns the distribution layer” of digital wallets.
Perena Introduces USD – a Fully Reserved, On-Chain Stablecoin Backed by T-Bills. Perena Finance announced the launch of USD’ (pronounced “USD Prime”), a Solana-based stablecoin issued by U.S.-licensed custodian Brale and designed to comply with the new GENIUS Act. USD’ is 100% collateralized and 1:1 redeemable for U.S. dollars, backed by tokenized money market and Treasury funds (Franklin Templeton’s $BENJI fund and Superstate’s USTB T-bill fund). The stablecoin supports Solana’s confidential transfers (offering privacy+compliance). It aims to be an “institutional” digital dollar, bridging on-chain and off-chain finance, with built-in bank rails and swaps against USDC and over 20 other stablecoins.
Tether Signals U.S. Expansion with New Institutional Stablecoin. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company’s re-entry into the U.S. market is “well underway” after the GENIUS Act’s passage. Speaking at the bill’s signing, he revealed Tether will seek status as a foreign-licensed issuer in the U.S. and plans to launch a U.S.-focused USDT variant by early 2026 aimed at institutional payments. The incoming U.S. rules mandate Big Four audits for any stablecoin with a market cap of over $50 billion, and Tether is beefing up its compliance efforts (hiring a new CFO and pursuing a top-tier auditor) to meet those standards. “They’re going to be serious competitors… But we have better technology and a deeper understanding of the industry,” Ardoino said of rival banks planning their coins.
WisdomTree Unveils Stablecoin Strategy, Marrying Tokenized Funds with Payments. Asset manager WisdomTree (known for $480M tokenized MMF WTGXX) went public with its stablecoin USDW on Stellar, soon to be rebranded WUSD, after keeping it limited to its WisdomTree Prime app. The New York–chartered firm positions USDW as a payment coin (used for on-chain fund dividends and transfers) to complement WTGXX, which is a yield-bearing fund token.
Polymarket Mulls Launching Its Own Stablecoin to Capture Yield. Decentralized prediction market Polymarket (recently valued at ~$1B) is considering issuing a proprietary stablecoin for use on its platform. Currently, Polymarket uses USDC for bets; by creating its own fully backed dollar token, Polymarket could “own the yield-generating reserves” instead of letting Circle earn interest on user funds. According to an insider, Polymarket’s closed ecosystem makes a custom stablecoin technically straightforward (users would swap USDC into the new coin for on-platform use. The team hasn’t made a final decision and is also weighing a revenue-sharing deal with Circle. Observers note that fresh U.S. legislation is making the stablecoin business “all the more attractive” for both crypto firms and traditional finance players.
Amex CEO: Stablecoins Are a “Good Alternative” to SWIFT and ACH Payments. On American Express’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Stephen Squeri said that sending money via stablecoins could be a viable alternative to traditional bank networks. “Will they replace existing payment rails? No,” Squeri said, “Are they a good proxy and a good alternative to ACH and SWIFT…? I think so.” The GENIUS Act’s passage has Amex taking a closer look at crypto dollars, though Squeri stressed that well-established systems work too well to be entirely displaced. Cross-border B2B payments are one area stablecoins could augment (even if FX fees aren’t a huge revenue stream for Amex). For now, the card giant is in “wait-and-see” mode as U.S. regulators finalize stablecoin rules.
Ethena Plots $360 M SPAC to Hoard Its Own Stablecoin’s Reserves. Ethena – issuer of the $6B algorithmic stablecoin USDe – announced a deal to take a subsidiary public via SPAC to accumulate ENA, Ethena’s governance token. The new entity, dubbed StablecoinX, will merge with Nasdaq-listed TLGY Acquisition Corp and raise $360 million from crypto VCs (Pantera, Galaxy, Polychain, etc.) to buy ENA tokens. Of the raise, $260M comes in cash (earmarked for open-market ENA buybacks) and $100M as locked ENA provided at a discount. Ethena’s foundation will also execute a $260M token buyback program on exchanges. This bold “crypto treasury” play – akin to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy – sent ENA surging ~65% on the news. Ethena’s move reflects a trend among DeFi projects of leveraging public markets to bolster their token reserves amid rising stablecoin yields and increased competition.
Hong Kong Regulator Tempers “Overly Excited” Stablecoin Market Ahead of Licensing. Eddie Yue, chief of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), cautioned that companies should “rein in their enthusiasm” on stablecoins as the city prepares to issue its first licenses. Starting August 1, the HKMA will regulate stablecoin issuers (following Hong Kong's passage of a stablecoin bill in May), but Yue warned that only a “few” licenses will be granted initially. He noted some firms with no prior payments business are rushing into stablecoins, calling the market “overly excited” and implying not everyone with a project will be approved. Hong Kong’s new rules will mandate full backing and proper governance, and the regulator is signaling a controlled, selective approach to avoid oversaturation.
Ondo Finance Launches USDY, a Tokenized U.S. Treasury Fund on Sei Blockchain. Ondo Finance, a leader in real-world asset tokenization, is bringing its United States Dollar Yield (USDY) product to the Sei Network L1 blockchain. USDY is a tokenized fund of short-term U.S. Treasury bills (offering ~4.25% APY) and will be the first tokenized T-bill available on Sei. The expansion – slated for this month – allows global investors to access Treasuries on a high-speed DeFi platform, with Ondo citing Sei’s “tens of thousands TPS” throughput as ideal for institutional-grade financial products. By launching on Sei (which saw 821% YoY growth and $670M+ TVL), USDY aims to democratize Treasury yields via 24/7 on-chain markets, while giving Sei a flagship RWA asset to attract liquidity.
ChinaAMC Debuts First Tokenized RMB Money Market Fund in Hong Kong. China Asset Management (Hong Kong) has launched two tokenized money-market funds denominated in CNH (offshore RMB) and USD, with the RMB fund marking the first-ever tokenized fund in Chinese currency. Partnering with Standard Chartered’s Libeara platform as the tokenization engine, ChinaAMC is offering retail investors low-minimum access to these digital funds. However, the “fund tokens” are non-transferable (peer-to-peer trading is not yet available) and incur hefty entry/exit fees via broker channels. “We believe such products, when combined with stablecoins and the digital RMB, will promote innovation and RMB internationalization,” said a CITIC Securities executive. The move is a significant step in Hong Kong’s push for asset tokenization, even as high fees and complexity may limit early adoption.
Charles Schwab CEO Questions the Value of Tokenizing Public Stocks. Rick Wurster, the incoming CEO of Charles Schwab, expressed skepticism about tokenization in traditional equities markets, even as the brokerage ventures into crypto. On Schwab’s summer update call, Wurster confirmed the firm will offer spot Bitcoin and Ether trading (and even potentially issue a stablecoin in a bank consortium) to meet client demand. But when asked about tokenizing assets, he mused: “For public equities, we’ve got to ask ourselves what problem is being solved?”. Wurster noted that U.S. stock markets already operate 24/7 with high liquidity and transparency, implying that listing Apple or Tesla shares on a blockchain may not yield significant improvements. He’s open to tokenization “if clients demand it” or if the entire market moves that way, but warned any tokenized system must be at least as low-cost and well-regulated as today’s infrastructure before Schwab would fully embrace it.
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