The news: President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, known by its shorthand as the GENIUS Act, during a White House ceremony on Friday.

This regulation is the first major cryptocurrency legislation signed into law in the US.

Why this matters: Payment players, financial institutions, crypto projects, and retailers have been eyeing stablecoins to speed up transaction rates, lower fees, and simplify cross-border transactions.

Preemptive payment maneuvers: Major payment players have been gearing up for the GENIUS Act becoming law.

• Fiserv launched its own stablecoin, deepening its partnerships with PayPal and Mastercard to complement its banking and payment infrastructure.
• JPMorgan Chase announced its own deposit token, JPMD.
• Zelle consortium banks have begun talks to issue an institutional stablecoin to increase interoperability across major financial institutions.
• Bank of America said it was considering launching its own stablecoin after stockpiling patents for blockchain technology.

Our take: The GENIUS Act ushers in the clarity and legitimacy sought after by crypto players and traditional FIs alike. 

• Banks and fintechs emerge as the prime beneficiaries of the legislation, with stablecoin issuance blocked for public nonfinancial companies without unanimous support from regulators. As long as they move quickly, banks could maintain dominance over their existing payment rails through a Zelle-like collaboration for an institutional stablecoin.
• Major retailers like Walmart and Amazon looking to avoid banks’ interchange fees could find a backdoor to earning issuer status for stablecoins. Walmart, for example, could leverage its One fintech to issue its own stablecoin.