Coinbase Soars 16%… Traditional Payments Stocks Hit by Stablecoin Bill Passage

The Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained its benchmark interest rate, and while the market remained cautious, Coinbase (COIN) stock led the upward trend and drew attention. In contrast, credit card and payment-related stocks, which could be directly affected by the payment system, recorded significant declines. According to the New York Stock Exchange on June 18 (local time), the Fed announced that it would maintain the benchmark interest rate at its current level, still leaving open the possibility of two rate cuts this year. However, during Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference, investor sentiment contracted, causing the S&P 500 index to decline slightly, and the Dow Jones fell 0.1%. The Nasdaq closed with a marginal strength, rising 0.1%. Coinbase drew the most market interest. As the U.S. Senate passed the 'GENIUS Act' containing regulations on stablecoin issuance, Coinbase stock surged 16% in a single day, ranking first in gains within the S&P 500. The bill requires stablecoin issuers to mandatorily hold safe assets, including U.S. dollars, which is expected to accelerate the cryptocurrency industry's entry into the institutional framework. However, as the potential for digital assets to be used as a payment method emerged, existing payment companies were significantly impacted. Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V) declined 5.4% and 4.9% respectively, recording the largest drops among credit card representative stocks. Concerns that their stable revenue source of payment fees could be disrupted were reflected in their stock prices. This ripple effect spread across the payment infrastructure. Copay (CPAY), which provides inter-company payment services, and Paycom (PAYC), a payroll management software company, also declined by 4% and 3.7% respectively. Besides Coinbase, other stocks with notable gains were TKO Group (TKO) and Enphase Energy (ENPH). TKO, which operates sports content businesses like UFC and WWE, rose 4.8% amid favorable reviews from major investment institutions. Enphase, which experienced significant selling pressure the previous day due to clean energy tax credit reduction issues, successfully rebounded 4.2%. In contrast, Zoetis (ZTS), an animal pharmaceutical company, fell 4.1% after receiving a downgrade due to expectations of slowing sales growth in its main segments. The passage of this stablecoin bill is accelerating the institutionalized future of digital assets, and its impact is expected to gradually spread across the traditional financial industry. While the cryptocurrency industry is buoyed by expectations of benefits, the traditional payment ecosystem is likely to face increasing polarization as it struggles to avoid friction with new competitors.