America’s new stablecoin legislation may result in billions of {dollars} in annual financial savings for enterprise retailers that challenge their very own digital cash.
When President Trump signed the bipartisan Guiding and Establishing Nationwide Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into legislation 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, defend clients, enhance demand for U.S. treasuries, and be sure that innovation within the digital asset house is within the arms of the USA 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 taking part banks or companies releasing stablecoins to again every greenback’s value 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 attainable use for the stablecoins that the GENIUS Act governs could be retailer-issued forex.
Walmart and Amazon could already be contemplating it to slash cost processing charges.
As each service provider is aware of, cost playing cards sometimes 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 lower transaction charges to almost zero.
Thus, Walmart and Amazon, amongst different retailers, may drop billions to the underside line annually. Collectively, American retailers pay one thing like $160 billion a yr for cost card transactions.
Stablecoin Advantages
Past the rapid financial savings on transaction charges, issuing a stablecoin provides compelling advantages to an enterprise retailer, comparable to higher money movement from on the spot settlements, decrease fraud danger, and improved buyer loyalty from a branded digital cash.
But some observers keep in mind TerraUSD, the “steady” coin that took a nosedive in Might 2022, dipping under its one-dollar peg on the ninth earlier than finally plunging to simply 10 cents.
TerraUSD was an “algorithmic” stablecoin that used its relationship to a different cryptocurrency, Luna, to carry its worth.
The thought was this. TerraUSD was supposed at all times to be value precisely one U.S. greenback, however Luna’s worth may change.
The algorithm aimed to take care of TerraUSD at $1 by permitting individuals to commerce it for $1 value of Luna each time the value fluctuated. If TerraUSD dropped to 99 cents, you would swap it for $1 value of Luna and make a small revenue, which was purported to push the value 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, nonetheless, can be as dependable and, as their title implies, as steady as most monetary devices.
This stability comes from the backing belongings described above — $1 held in an account for each $1 value of stablecoin in circulation, a lot totally different from TerraUSD and comparable algorithmic or crypto-backed “stablecoins.”
Not for SMBs
Stablecoins have the potential to remodel ecommerce and retail, however small and mid-size companies will probably see comparatively few advantages, no less than within the close to time period.
For instance, stablecoins unlock alternatives in cross-border gross sales, however ecommerce platform suppliers and marketplaces may not go on per-transaction financial savings to sellers.
For example, Shopify introduced its help for USD Coin (USDC) in June 2025, however, on the time of writing, the ecommerce platform charged stablecoin transaction charges much like commonplace cost card processing, regardless of USDC transactions being dramatically cheaper.
Massive ecommerce marketplaces may take the same tack, charging retailers the identical charges to course of stablecoins as for cost playing cards.
Considerations
I see two additional considerations. 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 impression in-store and on-line retailers.
