America’s new stablecoin regulation may result in billions of {dollars} in annual financial savings for enterprise retailers that problem their very own digital cash.
When President Trump signed the bipartisan Guiding and Establishing Nationwide Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into regulation in July 2025, America turned the primary nation to supply a regulatory framework for the issuance and oversight of safe, fiat-backed digital currencies.
“This invoice will cement U.S. greenback dominance, shield clients, enhance demand for U.S. treasuries, and make sure that innovation within the digital asset area is within the palms of the US of America, not our adversaries,” mentioned Tennessee Senator Invoice Hagerty (R), who was the invoice’s lead sponsor, in an official assertion.
The GENIUS Act requires the collaborating banks or companies releasing stablecoins to again every greenback’s price of cryptocurrency with one greenback in money or U.S. Treasury bonds — primarily, safe and liquid belongings.
The U.S. GENIUS Act pegs the worth of stablecoins to the U.S. greenback.
Retail Stablecoin
One potential use for the stablecoins that the GENIUS Act governs can be retailer-issued forex.
Walmart and Amazon might already be contemplating it to slash cost processing charges.
As each service provider is aware of, cost playing cards usually price 1% to three% in transaction charges. These charges add up rapidly for enterprise retailers.
Retailer-issued stablecoins may assist these retail behemoths bypass conventional cost networks and minimize transaction charges to just about zero.
Thus, Walmart and Amazon, amongst different retailers, may drop billions to the underside line every year. Collectively, American retailers pay one thing like $160 billion a 12 months for cost card transactions.
Stablecoin Advantages
Past the rapid financial savings on transaction charges, issuing a stablecoin gives compelling advantages to an enterprise retailer, corresponding to higher money movement from immediate settlements, decrease fraud threat, and improved buyer loyalty from a branded digital cash.
But some observers keep in mind TerraUSD, the “secure” coin that took a nosedive in Could 2022, dipping under its one-dollar peg on the ninth earlier than finally plunging to only 10 cents.
TerraUSD was an “algorithmic” stablecoin that used its relationship to one other cryptocurrency, Luna, to carry its worth.
The concept was this. TerraUSD was supposed at all times to be price precisely one U.S. greenback, however Luna’s value may change.
The algorithm aimed to take care of TerraUSD at $1 by permitting individuals to commerce it for $1 price of Luna at any time when the worth fluctuated. If TerraUSD dropped to 99 cents, you may swap it for $1 price of Luna and make a small revenue, which was imagined to push the worth again up.
The issue was that this solely labored if individuals trusted the system and Luna had worth. A run on TerraUSD pushed Luna costs down so quick that some traders panicked and began dumping Luna, too.
The algorithm stopped working.
Safe Cash
GENIUS Act stablecoins, nevertheless, might be as dependable and, as their title implies, as secure as most monetary devices.
This stability comes from the backing belongings described above — $1 held in an account for each $1 price of stablecoin in circulation, a lot completely different from TerraUSD and comparable algorithmic or crypto-backed “stablecoins.”
Not for SMBs
Stablecoins have the potential to rework ecommerce and retail, however small and mid-size companies will possible see comparatively few advantages, at the least within the close to time period.
For instance, stablecoins unlock alternatives in cross-border gross sales, however ecommerce platform suppliers and marketplaces won’t cross on per-transaction financial savings to sellers.
For instance, Shopify introduced its assist for USD Coin (USDC) in June 2025, however, on the time of writing, the ecommerce platform charged stablecoin transaction charges much like normal cost card processing, regardless of USDC transactions being dramatically cheaper.
Massive ecommerce marketplaces may take an identical tack, charging retailers the identical charges to course of stablecoins as for cost playing cards.
Issues
I see two additional issues. First, any retailer issuing its personal stablecoin will face banking-industry ranges of reporting, regulation, and oversight.
Second, some economists fear that the proliferation of “personal” cash may create market chaos, particularly if customers used stablecoins for on a regular basis purchases as described right here.
Nonetheless, government-regulated stablecoins are actual, and they’ll influence in-store and on-line retailers.
