As the U.S. Senate passed the stablecoin regulation bill called the 'GENIUS Act', the stock prices of related companies surged. In particular, Circle, the issuer of USDC, and its co-developer Coinbase drew market attention.
On the 18th (local time), Circle's stock price closed at $199.59, a 33% surge compared to the previous trading day. This is more than 6 times higher than its IPO price of $31 on June 5th. Coinbase also rose 16% to $295.29.
This upward trend is due to the U.S. Congress passing the 'GENIUS Act', which incorporates stablecoins into the regulatory framework. The bill allows private companies to issue stablecoins under certain conditions, mandating full reserve holdings and monthly accounting audits.
Experts evaluate this bill as a historic turning point in institutionalizing stablecoins and a signal to fully grow the global stablecoin market worth $260 billion (approximately 357 trillion won).
USDC has a market capitalization of about $61.5 billion, making it the second-largest stablecoin after USDT. Circle is the issuer, and Coinbase is the co-developer, with both companies sharing USDC revenues 50-50.
With the bill's passage, both companies are expecting institutional investor inflows and expansion of the real financial market. Circle's Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad told CNBC that "investor confidence has been strengthened, and a foundation for financial infrastructure innovation funding has been laid".
On the same day, Coinbase announced various services to expand stablecoin practical use. They unveiled the 'Merchant Payment Solution' to support e-commerce companies receiving payments in USDC, challenging the existing credit card-centered payment infrastructure. This service is characterized by instant settlement and low fees. Previously, Shopify introduced USDC payment functionality on its platform.
Additionally, Coinbase signed a contract with Nodal Clear, a payment clearing institution, to use USDC as collateral for U.S. futures trading. This demonstrates that stablecoins are expanding beyond payments into capital market domains.
Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau analyzed that this is a "signal showing stablecoins' potential expanding beyond consumer payments to capital markets overall".
However, the bill still has final enactment procedures pending. A separate 'STABLE Act' is being discussed in the House of Representatives, and coordination between the Senate and House is expected regarding regulatory entities and detailed provisions. The Senate version concentrates regulatory authority in the Treasury, while the House version distributes authority across multiple agencies like the Federal Reserve and Currency Supervisory Office. Particularly, the Republican Party is reportedly reviewing potential merger with broader market structural reform bills.
As stablecoin market institutionalization accelerates, there are assessments that the United States is taking a step ahead in global digital financial infrastructure competition.
