A turning point for stablecoins: U.S. regulation sets the global standard
By Edward Carroll, Head of Global Markets and Corporate Finance at MHC Digital Group
As the GENIUS stablecoin bill passes through the U.S. Senate, it marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of global digital asset regulation. Alongside the Digital Asset Market Structure Bill and the Clarity Act – which are yet to pass but looking likely – we are now seeing real, tangible progress towards a clear framework to support the development and mainstream adoption of not just stablecoins, but blockchain technology more broadly.
To give some scope of the scale of the stablecoin opportunity, the market capitalisation of stablecoins globally now sits at approximately $230 billion, with supply up by more than 60% in the last 12 months. Total transaction volume in 2024 was over $27 trillion – more than the transactions on Visa and Mastercard combined – and this was before the Genius Bill was passed.
At MHC Digital Group, we’ve long advocated for regulatory clarity that embeds blockchain technology into the core of financial services. This milestone in the U.S. is a clear signal that blockchain is no longer peripheral, it’s foundational.
For Australia and other markets, the challenge is clear: the U.S. is setting the pace and the standard. To stay competitive, we need to shift from just talking about policy to actually implementing digital asset systems that are connected, compliant and ready to be used at an institutional level. We look forward to further clarity as the Government follows through on its promises and provides us a framework which sets a standard for high-quality, compliant service providers to grow in this ecosystem.
We’ve already taken steps in this direction through our partnership with Circle, giving our investors direct access to USDC. We recognised early on that delivering trusted, regulated digital asset infrastructure would be a critical step to keeping up with the standard being set in the US. Circle’s recent and highly successful IPO is further evidence that the market is not only ready but actively embracing stablecoins as a financial solution.
