What crypto assets will benefit from the GENIUS Act voted to pass?

Author:Shenchao TechFlow

The sentiment in the crypto market has once again focused on regulatory actions.

On May 19, the U.S. Senate passed the procedural vote of GENIUS Act (the 2025 US Stablecoin Innovation Guidance and Establishment Act) with a vote of 66-32. This milestone progress marks the imminent implementation of the U.S. stablecoin regulatory framework.

As the first comprehensive US federal stablecoin regulation bill, the advancement of GENIUS Act quickly triggered a warm response in the crypto market, with the DeFi and RWA sectors related to stablecoins leading the market today.

Will GENIUS Act become a catalyst for a new bull market?

According to Citibank's forecast, by 2030, the global stablecoin market size is expected to reach US$1.6 to US$3.7 trillion, and the passage of the bill gives more room for stablecoins to be "compliant" and develop, and there is a more reasonable reason for the entry of traditional companies.

The market is also looking forward to the entry of incremental funds that can bring about "flooding" and inject new liquidity into related crypto assets.

But before that, you should at least understand what this bill actually has and the legislative motivation behind it in order to provide a more convincing reason for selecting relevant crypto assets.

From "wild growth" to standardization

GENIUS Act, literally translated as the "Genius Act", but in fact it is the abbreviation of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act of 2025.

To put it simply, it is the legislative document of the US national font.

The reason why the market is concerned is that it is the first comprehensive federal regulatory bill for stablecoins in U.S. history. Before this, stablecoins and cryptocurrencies have been in a delicate gray area:

If the law does not explicitly prohibit it, it can be done, but the law does not have clear rules to tell you "how to do it".

GENIUS Act’s goal is to provide legitimacy and security to the stablecoin market through a clear regulatory framework while consolidating the dollar ’s ​​dominance in digital finance .

To sum up, the key contents of the bill include:

• Reserve requirements: Stablecoin issuers must support 100% reserves. The reserve assets must be high-liquid assets such as US dollar and short-term US Treasury bonds, and they must be composed of public reserves every month.

• Regulatory hierarchy: Large issuers with market capitalization of more than $10 billion (such as Tether, Circle) are subject to direct supervision by the Federal Reserve System or the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), and small issuers can be regulated by states.

• Transparency and compliance: Prohibit misleading marketing (such as claiming stablecoins are guaranteed by the U.S. government) and requires issuers to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and Knowledge Customer (KYC) regulations. Issuers with market capitalization of over $50 billion need to audit financial statements annually to ensure transparency.

This means that the United States' attitude towards stablecoins is actually friendly, but the premise is that stablecoins need to be reserved by the US dollar and must meet the requirements of openness and transparency.

Looking back at history, the birth of GENIUS Act was not achieved overnight, but the culmination of the US's years of exploration of stablecoin regulation. We have also quickly sorted out the full timeline of this bill to help you quickly understand the background and motivations of the bill:

The stablecoin market is developing rapidly, but the risks caused by lack of supervision are becoming increasingly prominent. For example, the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin UST in 2022 highlights the demand for clear supervision.

As early as 2023, the House Financial Services Committee proposed the STABLE Act, attempting to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, but failed to pass in the Senate due to bipartisan differences;

On February 4, 2025, Senator Bill Hagerty, in conjunction with bipartisan members including Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis, formally proposed the GENIUS Act, aiming to balance innovation and regulation. On March 13, the bill passed the Senate Banking Committee's review by 18-6, showing strong bipartisan support.

However, the first unanimous vote on May 8 failed because it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold (48-49), and some Democratic lawmakers (such as Elizabeth Warren) are worried that the bill may benefit the Trump family's crypto projects (such as the USD1 stablecoin), and believe there is a conflict of interest.

After amendment, the bill added restrictions on big tech companies, eliminating some lawmakers' concerns about conflicts of interest, and finally passed a procedural vote by 66-32 on May 19, which is expected to pass the Senate unanimous vote soon with a simple majority.

So, what is the significance of legislation to reach this point?

First, the market wants certainty. The passage of the bill basically marks the move from "wild growth" to standardization of the US stablecoin market, filling the long-term regulatory gap and providing certainty for the market.

Secondly, it is necessary to consolidate the US dollar's status through stablecoins, especially under the competitive pressure of China's digital RMB and EU MiCA regulations.

Finally, the advancement of GENIUS Act may pave the way for broader crypto market legislation (such as the Market Structure Act) to promote the integration of the crypto industry and traditional finance, and you have a legal basis for getting out of the circle.

Stakeholder crypto assets

The core terms of GENIUS Act directly affect the stablecoin ecosystem and affect the entire crypto market through chain effects. This regulatory framework will not only reshape the stablecoin industry, but will also influence multiple crypto tracks such as DeFi, Layer 1 blockchain and RWA through the widespread application of stablecoins.

The projects in some tracks do not fully meet the regulatory requirements of the bill. If the bill is to be regarded as a favorable factor, corresponding adjustments are required in product design and business.

We have sorted out some larger projects and have included the benefits and adjustment points as follows.

1. Centralized stablecoin issuers:

The bill's reserve requirements (100% current assets, required to hold US Treasury bonds) and transparency regulations (such as monthly disclosures) are most beneficial to centralized stablecoins. These stablecoins have basically met the requirements, and the regulation clearly states that it will attract more institutional funds to enter the market and expand their use in the fields of transactions and payments.

$USDT (Tether): USDT is the largest stablecoin with a market value (a market value of approximately US$130 billion in 2025). About 60% of its reserve composition is US short-term Treasury bonds (around US$78 billion), and 40% are cash and cash equivalents (data source: Tether 2025 first quarter transparency report).

GENIUS Act requires reserve assets to be mainly US bonds, Tether has fully complied with it, and its transparency measures (such as quarterly audits) also meet the bill's requirements. However, the focus is that the use of USDT has always had a gray industry part (e-fraud, etc.), and how to adjust the business to adapt to supervision is the next issue that needs to be considered.

$USDC (Circle): USDC has a market value of approximately US$60 billion, 80% of its reserve composition is short-term US Treasury bonds (about US$48 billion), and 20% is cash (data source: Circle May 2025 monthly report). Circle has been registered in the United States and actively cooperated with regulation (such as applying for an IPO in 2024), and its reserves are fully in line with the requirements of the bill. The passage of the bill may make USDC the first choice stablecoin in institutions, especially in the DeFi field (USDC accounts for 30% of DeFi in 2025), and its market share is expected to further increase.

2. Decentralized stablecoins :

$MKR (MakerDAO, issuing DAI ): DAI is the largest decentralized stablecoin (market value of approximately US$9 billion) and is issued through excessive collateral crypto assets (such as ETH). About 10% of the current reserves are US bonds (about US$900 million), mainly mortgaged by crypto assets (data source: MakerDAO May 2025 report).

GENIUS Act's strict requirements on reserve assets may pose a challenge to DAI, but if MakerDAO increases the proportion of US Treasury reserves, it can benefit from overall market growth. $MKR holders may profit from increased DAI usage (MakerDAO agreement annual revenue in 2025 is approximately US$200 million).

$FXS (Frax Finance, issuance of FRAX): FRAX has a market value of approximately US$2 billion, and adopts some algorithm mechanisms (50% collateral, 50% algorithm), and about 15% of the collateralized assets are US bonds (about US$300 million). If Frax adjusts to the full mortgage model and increases the U.S. bond ratio, it can benefit from market expansion, but its algorithmic mechanism may face regulatory pressure because the bill does not protect algorithmic stablecoins.

$ENA (Ethena Labs, issuing USDe): USDe has a market value of approximately US$1.4 billion, and is issued through ETH hedging and income strategies. Only 5% of the reserves are US bonds (about US$70 million).

Its strategy may require substantial adjustments to meet the bill's requirements. If successful, it can benefit from market growth, but there are risks.

3. DeFi Transactions/Loans

$CRV (Curve Finance): Curve focuses on stablecoin trading (TVL is about US$2 billion in 2025), and 70% of its liquidity pool is stablecoin trading pairs (such as USDT/USDC).

The increased usage of stablecoin driven by GENIUS Act will directly increase Curve's trading volume (current daily trading volume is about $300 million), and $CRV holders can benefit from trading fees (annualized yields about 5%) and governance rights. If the stablecoin market is expected to grow according to Citi's forecast, Curve's TVL may increase by another 20%.

$ UNI (Uniswap): Uniswap is a universal DEX (TVL of approximately $5 billion in 2025), and stablecoin trading pairs (such as USDC/ETH) account for 30% of its liquidity. The increased activity of stablecoin transactions brought by the bill will indirectly benefit Uniswap, but its benefits are less than Curve (because the business is more diversified), and $UNI holders can benefit from transaction fees (about 3% annualized).

$AAVE (Aave): Aave is the largest lending agreement (TVL is about $10 billion in 2025), and stablecoins (such as USDC, DAI) account for about 40% of its lending pool.

The bill will attract more users to borrow using stablecoins (such as USDC borrowing ETH with mortgages), and Aave's deposits and borrowing volumes may grow further (based on current trends). $AAVE holders benefit from agreement revenue (annual revenue of approximately US$150 million in 2025) and token value increase.

$COMP (Compound): Compound's TVL is about US$3 billion, and stablecoin lending accounts for about 35%. Similar to Aave, the increase in stablecoin lending will benefit Compound, but its market share and innovation speed are lower than Aave, and the potential increase in $COMP may be relatively small.

4. Income Agreement

$PENDLE (Pendle): Pendle focuses on income tokenization (TVL is about $500 million in 2025), and stablecoins are often used in its income strategies (such as USDC earning pool, with current annualized yield of about 3%. The growth of the stablecoin market driven by the bill will increase Pendle's earnings opportunities (such as yields may rise to 5%), and $PENDLE holders may benefit from the growth in agreement revenue (annual revenue of approximately $30 million in 2025).

5. Layer1

$ETH (Ethereum): Ethereum carries 90% of stablecoins and DeFi activity (DeFi TVL exceeds US$100 billion in 2025). The increased usage of stablecoin driven by the bill will boost Ethereum on-chain transactions (current Gas fee revenue is about $2 billion per year), and the value of $ETH may rise due to increased demand.

$TRX (Tron): Tron is an important network for stablecoin circulation. Public data shows that the circulation of USDT on-chain Tron in 2025 is about USDT, accounting for 46% of the total USDT; the increase in stablecoin usage driven by the bill may increase Tron's on-chain activities.

$SOL (Solana): Solana has become an important platform for stablecoins and DeFi due to its high throughput and low cost (TVL is about $8 billion in 2025, and on-chain USDC circulation is about $5 billion). Increased stablecoin usage will drive Solana's DeFi activity (current daily average trading volume is about $1 billion), and $SOL may benefit from increased on-chain activity.

$SUI (Sui): Sui is an emerging Layer 1 (TVL of approximately $1 billion in 2025), supporting stablecoin-related applications (such as Thala's stablecoins and DEX). The bill-driven stablecoin ecological growth will attract more projects to be deployed on Sui, and $SUI may benefit from the increase in ecological activity (currently an average daily active user of about 500,000).

$ APT (Aptos): Aptos is also an emerging Layer 1 (TVL in 2025 approximately US$800 million), and its ecosystem supports stablecoin payments. The increase in stablecoin circulation will drive Aptos' payment and DeFi applications, and $APT may benefit from user growth.

6. Payment track

$XRP (Ripple): XRP focuses on cross-border payments (average daily transaction volume in 2025 is approximately US$2 billion), and its low-cost and high-efficiency characteristics can complement stablecoins. The increased demand for cross-border payments of stablecoins driven by the bill (such as USDC for international settlement) will indirectly increase XRP usage scenarios (such as as bridge currencies), and $XRP may benefit from the increase in payment demand.

$ XLM (Stellar): Stellar also focuses on cross-border payments (average daily transaction volume in 2025 is approximately US$500 million), and has partnered with IBM to launch the World Wire project, using stablecoins as a bridge asset.

7. Oracle

$LINK + $PYTH: Oracles provide price data for stablecoins and DeFi. The bill-driven stablecoin market expansion will increase DeFi's demand for real-time price data, and the number of on-chain data calls may increase.

But this is more like an extension of the sector's positive logic than a complete strong correlation.

8. RWA

$ONDO (Ondo Finance): Focusing on tokenizing fixed income assets such as US bonds. Its flagship product USDY (stable income token supported by US bonds) has been issued on chains such as Solana and Ethereum (USDY circulation in 2025 is approximately US$500 million). GENIUS Act requires stablecoins to reserve holding US bonds, which is directly beneficial to Ondo's US bond tokenization business. USDY may become one of the preferred reserve assets for stablecoin issuers. In addition, the increase in stablecoin circulation will drive retail investors and institutions to buy USDY through USDC, and Ondo's asset tokenization demand may grow, and $ONDO holders will benefit.

The US dollar, the bigger conspiracy

The United States' promotion of stablecoin legislation is also considered a "open conspiracy".

On the one hand, the United States hopes to weaken the dollar policy and increase exports, but on the other hand, it does not want to give up the dollar's position as a global currency.

By supporting the development of stablecoins, the United States has digitally extended the global influence of the US dollar without increasing its Fed's liabilities - currently 99% of stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar.

At the same time, regulatory regulations that require stablecoins to hold US short-term Treasury bonds as reserves have cleverly found new buyers for US bonds, just as Tether has surpassed many developed countries in the scale of US bonds.

This policy not only maintains the global dominance of the US dollar, but also finds reliable buyers for the huge US debt, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

The passage of GENIUS Act is undoubtedly a milestone in the crypto market. Through the binding of stablecoins and US bonds, it provides a new path for the continuation of US dollar hegemony, and at the same time promotes the overall prosperity of the crypto ecosystem.

However, this "open conspiracy" is also a double-edged sword - while bringing opportunities, its high reliance on US debt, the potential suppression of DeFi innovation, and the uncertainty of global competition may all become hidden dangers in the future.

However, uncertainty is always the ladder for the crypto market to move forward.

The risks can be uncertain, but participants are all waiting for a certain bull market to arrive.