It's amusing how something can be commonplace for every day and millions of people and still have no concrete rules around it. That is how stablecoins have been for years now. Stablecoins are crypto but don't operate like bitcoin with the level of fluctuations that happen in price. They just stay stable because they are pegged to the dollar.
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They have been used in all sorts of ways like trading, saving, even sending money across border but all in a gray area. And now there is a bill, the GENIUS Act that may legitimately give stablecoins somewhere to go in the system. I think this is significant, not just for monetary enthusiasts but for everyone else using money too. Right now stablecoins are in effect centralized to two organizations. Yes, those organizations have trust built up, but it also leads to no competition. If the bill passes, we might see some more organizations maybe even banks create their own stablecoins. That could mean better deals with less fees and maybe even easier transactions. But it is also easy to see a weird situation happen quickly. There could be many more stablecoins, which means more regulation and more possibilities for it to go wrong.
Others have their doubts.
Some feel that bill is overly accommodating to the rich and powerful people or institutions or does not place enough restrictions. An understandable concern. Yes, if too many people are allowed to launch a coin, horrible things can happen. No major change begins perfectly under real conditions. It takes real use to see what works.
What I appreciate about this idea is the notion stablecoins could be a kind of money we simply use, almost without thinking, like tapping your credit card or sending some money through an app. If that’s the future we’re heading toward, then this bill is about much more than just crypto, it is about the future of money when we think of it as invisible steady money which just works.