The GENIUS Act and what it means for Europe

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act was signed on July 18, 2025, according to Skadden. Only a permitted payment stablecoin issuer may issue a payment stablecoin in the US: a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, a federally qualified nonbank, a federal branch of a foreign bank or an uninsured national bank. An issuer with 10 billion dollars or less in stablecoins outstanding may choose a state regime instead.

Every token needs one-to-one backing in cash, Federal Reserve balances, insured deposits or short-term Treasuries. Issuers publish the reserve composition every month, certified by senior officers, as The Block sums up. They may not pay interest or yield for holding a stablecoin, count as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and must be able to seize, freeze or burn tokens on a lawful order. The law takes effect 18 months after enactment or 120 days after the final regulations, whichever comes first.

Both laws require full reserve backing and redemption at par, and both forbid interest for holders. MiCA is wider: it also licenses exchanges, custodians and other crypto-asset service providers, while the GENIUS Act deals with issuers. MiCA also fixes the reserve mix more tightly, with at least 30 percent in separate bank accounts under Article 54. An ECB blog post calls the US law broadly similar in spirit to MiCA but more lenient in some areas.

A foreign issuer can keep serving US users only if the Treasury finds its home regime comparable and the issuer registers with the OCC. For an issuer licensed in the EU, the Treasury has to find MiCA comparable. Tether's USDT is not a permitted US issuer, and Tether launched a separate token, USAT, through Anchorage Digital Bank, as The Block notes.

For European banks the law matters because dollar tokens dominate the market. The ECB put dollar stablecoins at about 99 percent of total stablecoin market capitalization, and the ECB and stablecoins page explains why it sees that as a risk for the euro area.

Finance Loop is the meeting place in Germany for people who compare US and EU stablecoin rules for their business. The Digital Euro Conference of the Digital Euro Association, where Finance Loop is strategic partner, puts stablecoins on the agenda next to the digital euro. Finance Loop supported the Bybit EU x Circle Roadshow in Frankfurt with panels on the dollar stablecoin USDC and the euro stablecoin EURC.

On July 18, 2025. It takes effect 18 months after enactment or 120 days after the regulators issue final rules, whichever is earlier.

An issuer may not pay interest or yield to holders for holding, using or keeping a payment stablecoin. Whether exchanges may pay rewards is a separate debate, covered on the stablecoin yield page.

Only when they serve US customers. A foreign issuer then needs a home regime that the Treasury deems comparable and a registration with the OCC.