GOP Senator Sponsors Bill to Regulate Stablecoins – PYMNTS.com

A Republican senator is backing legislation to create a framework for stablecoins.
The bill floated by Tennessee’sBill Hagerty is designed to create a predictable regulatory environment for stablecoins, a form of cryptocurrency pegged tothe stable assets such as the U.S. dollar, Bloomberg Newsreported Tuesday (Feb. 4).
The effort comes as President Donald Trump looks to turn America into thecrypto capital of the world,and marks the latest effort by Republicans to createguidelines for the industry.
“My legislation establishes a safe and pro-growth regulatory framework that will unleash innovation and advance the president’s mission to make America the world capital of crypto,” Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, said in a statement.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.,and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Dubbed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoinsor GENIUSAct, the bill creates rules for issuing stablecoin payments and requirementsto back stablecoin payments with assets such as U.S. currency, Federal Reserve notes, or Treasury bills, the Bloomberg report said.
The billcomesas stablecoins are being “increasingly heralded as the bridge between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency world, have started tochange that dynamic,” as PYMNTS wrote last month.
“This isn’t aboutreplacing existing systems. It’s about providing an additional option. Where stablecoins offer superior benefits, customers will naturally gravitate toward them,”Miles Paschini, CEO atFV Bank, said in an interviewPYMNTS.
“As more banks integrate blockchain capabilities, customers will have greater choice in transferring value,” he added. “We’re blazing the trail for a future where blockchain is just another payment rail.”
A recent report from the Federal Reserve of Atlanta found that while the future of stablecoins as apayment method is still unwritten, their adoption couldone day rival credit or debit cards, with the stablecoin market value “comparable to the gross domestic product of countries like New Zealand or Greece.”
In addition, retailers ranging from Overstock to Chipotle to Whole Foods to GameStop have begun accepting stablecoins.
“Unlike the usual crypto rollercoaster of value volatility, stablecoins bring an alleged dose of stability to the digital currency game, while at the same time being able to function as a store of value, a medium of exchange and a unit of account,” PYMNTS wrote.

We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.

source

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *