18 Jun, 2025

Us Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill in Milestone for Crypto Industry

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for U.S.-dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins, in a watershed moment for the digital asset industry.The bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, received bipartisan support, with several Democrats joining most Republicans to back the proposed federal rules. It passed 68-30. The House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans, needs to pass its version of the bill before it heads to President Donald Trump's desk for approval."It is a major milestone," said Andrew Olmem, a managing partner at law firm Mayer Brown and the former deputy director of the National Economic Council during Trump's first term."It establishes, for the first time, a regulatory regime for stablecoins, a rapidly developing financial product and industry."Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, are commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years, and proponents say that they could be used to send payments instantly.If signed into law, the stablecoin bill would require tokens to be backed by liquid assets - such as U.S. dollars and short-term Treasury bills - and for issuers to publicly disclose the composition of their reserves on a monthly basis.The crypto industry has long pushed for lawmakers to pass legislation creating rules for digital assets, arguing that a clear framework could enable stablecoins to become more widely used. The sector spent more than $119 million backing pro-crypto congressional candidates in last year's elections and had tried to paint the issue as bipartisan.The House of Representatives passed a stablecoin bill last year but the Senate - in which Democrats held the majority at the time - did not take that bill up, and it died.Trump has sought to broadly overhaul U.S. cryptocurrency policies after courting cash from the industry during his presidential campaign.Bo Hines, who leads Trump's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, has said the White House wants a stablecoin bill passed before August.Tensions on Capitol Hill over Trump's various crypto ventures at one point threatened to derail the digital asset sector's hope of legislation this year as Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with Trump and his family members promoting their personal crypto projects.“In advancing these bills, lawmakers forfeited their opportunity to confront Trump’s crypto grift – the largest, most flagrant corruption in presidential history,” said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, a consumer rights advocacy group.Trump's crypto ventures include a meme coin called $TRUMP, launched in January, and a business called World Liberty Financial, a crypto company owned partly by the president.The White House has said there are no conflicts of interest present for Trump and that his assets are in a trust managed by his children.Other Democrats expressed concern that the bill would not prevent big tech companies from issuing their own private stablecoins, and argued that legislation needed stronger anti-money laundering protections and prohibitions on foreign stablecoin issuers."A bill that turbocharges the stablecoin market, while facilitating the president’s corruption and undermining national security, financial stability, and consumer protection is worse than no bill at all," said Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, in remarks on the Senate floor in May.The bill could face further changes in the House of Representatives. In a statement, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors called for “critical changes” to mitigate financial stability risks.“CSBS remains concerned with the dramatic and unsupported expansion of the authority of uninsured banks to conduct money transmission or custody activities nationwide without the approval or oversight of host state supervisors,” said Brandon Milhorn, president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, in a statement.

13 Jun, 2025

Shopify Merchants in 34 Countries to Accept USDC Through Stripe Partnership

Shopify merchants in 34 countries will soon be able to accept USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin, thanks to an expanded partnership between Stripe and Shopify. The feature, built on the Base blockchain developed by Coinbase, will allow customers to pay with USDC using their preferred crypto wallets, while giving merchants a simple and flexible way to receive funds — either as local currency or in USDC.Seamless Integration for Global Crypto PaymentsStripe’s integration of stablecoin payments into Shopify’s checkout and payout systems eliminates the need for merchants to manage complex crypto infrastructure. Payments made in USDC on Base are processed just like traditional payments: by default, Stripe will convert the stablecoins to local currency and deposit them into the merchant’s bank account. Merchants who prefer to hold crypto can instead opt to receive USDC directly to an external wallet.This new capability is part of Stripe Connect, the company’s suite of tools for managing multi-party payments. Connect powers platforms like DoorDash, Instacart, Salesforce, and now enables Shopify to offer crypto payments at scale. U.S.-based Connect platforms will also be able to activate stablecoin payments for their own users.Unlocking Access to Global Markets Without Added CostsWith this launch, Shopify merchants will be able to accept payments from customers anywhere in the world without incurring foreign transaction or exchange fees. This supports the growing trend of borderless commerce, where businesses can reach international buyers as easily as local ones.“By embracing stablecoins, merchants aren’t just adopting a new payment method,” Shopify noted in its announcement. “They’re tapping into global markets, opening the door to new customers, and joining the future of accessible, international commerce.”The move is backed by strong market momentum. In the past two years, global stablecoin settlement volume grew from under $2 billion to over $6.3 billion monthly, totaling more than $94 billion. Stripe and Shopify aim to harness that growth by simplifying access for everyday merchants.A Step Toward Mainstream Crypto AdoptionThis rollout marks a milestone in bringing crypto payments into mainstream ecommerce. According to Coinbase, Shopify chose Base for its low-cost, high-speed onchain transactions. “This partnership represents a significant step toward Base’s mission to bring a billion people onchain,” the company stated.Stripe’s head of crypto, Neetika Bansal, echoed this view: “Now those businesses can reach more markets at lower costs — all without having to change how they already run their business.”Early access to this feature has already begun, with broader availability planned for later this year.