- Stablecoin Dispatch
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- Stablecoin Dispatch Volume 1
Welcome to the first edition of Stablecoin Dispatch!
Very serious logomark :|
This week’s lowdown features American banks planning their own stablecoin, Hong Kong’s stablecoin bill, Circle files for IPO, and Modern Treasury’s stablecoin accounts.
This week’s news
US banks are planning a joint stablecoin.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report stating that some of America’s biggest banks—J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi Group, and Wells Fargo—are exploring collaborations to launch their own stablecoin. The report says these banks have considered allowing other banks, as well as the co-owners of the Clearing House and Early Warning Services, to use their stablecoin infrastructure. That’s not all, folks. The report also says some regional and community banks are considering.
This report came just a few days after the US Senate advanced the GENIUS Act to open debate. This act seeks to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
My take: Banks worldwide inevitably get into the Stablecoin business somehow. America’s GENIUS Act shows government support for creating rules and guardrails on stablecoins. Banks love nothing more than clear regulations wherever money can be made.
Jamie Dimon rn
Cheeky take: I LOVE the Act’s name—GENIUS—Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins. It implies greatness and adventure and is, most of all, memorable. Word to everybody working at layer-1 blockchains with weird and forgettable protocol names and numbers: The government is naming stuff better than you. SMH.
Hong Kong Passes Stablecoin Bill
Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority has passed a stablecoin bill to establish a licensing regime for what it calls ‘fiat-referenced stablecoins’ (FRS).
If you’ve been paying attention, Hong Kong has made major moves in Real World Assets. It continues to cement its financial centre as a welcoming place for crypto and blockchain innovation.
Circle files for IPO
Squashing rumours of an acquisition by Coinbase or Ripple, Circle has filed for IPO. The USDC and EURC issuer is known for pragmatism, abiding by the book, and building slowly. It has filed on the coveted NYSE under the ticker CRCL and is seeking a valuation of up to $6.7bn. According to the filing, Big aunty Cathy Woods’ ARK Invest has shown interest in buying $150M worth of shares. Circle’s public performance is important to the entire stablecoin and larger crypto ecosystem. Here’s to more success 🥂.
In other news…
Modern Treasury announced Stablecoin Payment Accounts (SPAs) in collaboration with Brale. These USD-backed accounts let Modern Treasury’s customers send and receive payments over ACH, wire, RTP, and stablecoin rails through their API. Modern Treasury supports Circle, Paxos, and Brale stablecoins.
Fortune reports that sauces at Meta say the social media company is exploring crypto again. Meta’s crypto efforts are best known by the failure of Libra (or Diem - whichever you remember), which was truly ahead of its time. This time, the company is looking to power its global creator payouts via stablecoins - I don’t think governments can or will fight this one.
Circle launched its Circle Payments Network, a global network of stablecoin payment service providers. The network features many emerging market payment providers and includes big banks like Santander, Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale, and Standard Chartered.
Opera finally launched MiniPay out of its Opera Mini browser. MiniPay has 7 million users in 50 countries and is built on Celo.
MoneyGram partnered with Stellar to launch a developer API for global USDC on and off-ramps.
The UK Government published its policy draft for the regulation of crypto assets.
Nigeria’s President signed the Investment and Securities Act 2025, which classifies digital assets as securities and brings them under the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Stuff you should read
This paper by Mayowa Joy David and Atta Addo researches the popularity of crypto among Nigerians importing from China.
Criticisms of the GENIUS Act's provisions for stablecoin insolvency.
BCG published this whitepaper on stablecoins and their potential.