To date, stablecoin regulation in the United States has faced crushing roadblocks. This places in jeopardy the country’s long-term role at the center of the global financial landscape. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is urging US legislators to accelerate the development of a framework for stablecoins that defines the use and issuance. These digital assets are typically pegged to traditional fiat currencies, for example the US dollar. This action is particularly timely, given that stablecoin transaction volumes recently hit an all-time high of $1.82 trillion in March 2025. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has a message of caution. He hopes that delayed actions will limit the US dollar’s place in the future monetary system.
GENIUS Act Faces Setback
On May 8, US legislators voted 49–48 to stop the GENIUS Act from proceeding. Taken together, these provisions of the GENIUS Act aim to increase US soft power and ensure the dollar continues to dominate in a rapidly changing financial environment. Scott Bessent views the decision to delay the GENIUS Act as a lost chance. He believes this legislation could have widened dollar dominance and deepened U.S. leadership in the evolving financial landscape. We anticipate that an amended version of the bill will be filed in the next few weeks.
It offers greater price stability compared to volatile digital assets, such as Bitcoin. This transparency into the monetary supply makes them an attractive option for payments and cross-border transactions. Innovation fostered by conscious regulation Major players like Stripe and Meta are making big bets on stablecoin technology. This boom in interest underscores the rapidly expanding role that stablecoins play in our digital economy.
Industry Leaders Call for Action
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse pointed to the recent boom in worldwide stablecoin usage. Without immediate action, we put the US at risk of losing our competitive advantage,” he warned. Most importantly, he urged US lawmakers to redouble their efforts to provide market participants with a transparent regulatory framework for stablecoins.
As Scott Bessent put it, this failure to act could have devastating effects. As US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned, prolonged inaction could constrain the US dollar’s ability to play a leading role in the future financial ecosystem.
Future of Stablecoin Regulation
Despite the GENIUS Act setback, more conversations continue to be had about the state of US stablecoin regulation. A cleaner version of the bill is likely to be reintroduced in the next few weeks. This action demonstrates that the push to save the regulatory gap isn’t done yet.
How these efforts turn out will probably shape the US’s place in the emerging, new digital economy. Failure to establish a clear regulatory framework could stifle innovation and allow other countries to take the lead in the stablecoin sector.
