Latest news with #GENIUSAct
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CoinDesk Weekly Recap: Stablecoins Dominate the Cycle
With the near-passage of the GENIUS Act and a host of companies announcing stablecoin initiatives, stablecoin-related assets have been on a tear. Circle, issuer of USDC, has seen its stock rise about 500% since its debut on June 5. This week, the company was valued at a staggering $77 billion, which is well above the total market cap of USDC itself (about $62 billion). Bullish signals for stablecoins were all around: CRCL is now the most popular foreign stock in South Korea. The leading stablecoin issuer, Tether, has so much spare cash it can afford to have a determinative stake in Juventus, an Italian soccer which actually makes more money from USDC than Circle, has seen its stock rise to its highest level in four years. Even Euro-backed stablecoins, long a forgotten cousin of USD coins, are surging. Combined, they're up 44% on the year, led by Circle's EURC. Stablecoins are the "quiet winners" from prediction markets like Polymarket. And so on. Traditional payment giants, like Mastercard and Visa, have been responding to stablecoin mania by making a flood of announcements of their own. Mastercard announced new tie-ups with Moonpay, Chainlink and Kraken this week. Amid all the stablecoin news, we still had space for plenty of other topics. SEI surged as well (albeit on stablecoin news). The Federal Reserve officially said crypto no longer carried 'reputational risks' for banks, leaving them to provide all the financial services they want for crypto companies. World Liberty Financial, the Trump family vehicle, reversed a promise to make its token non-transferable. In the summer months, sometimes it can feel like nothing much is happening. Not this year; crypto doesn't wait for anyone.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bolt Embraces Stablecoin Payments for Global Marketplaces as Digital Dollar Race Heats Up
Bolt, San Francisco-based checkout and payments platform, said on Friday it has added support for stablecoin payments, a move aimed at streamlining cross-border commerce for marketplaces and merchants using its network. The addition is part of Bolt Connect, a new product focused on helping digital marketplaces scale quickly by automating merchant onboarding, compliance and payouts. For merchants, receiving stablecoin payments means fewer bank intermediaries, faster settlements and lower transaction costs, the company explained the initiative in the press release. Consumers can benefit, too: a shopper without a bank account or buying from a store across the world can pay instantly using digital dollars without incurring foreign transaction fees or waiting on credit card clearances. "Marketplaces shouldn't have to choose between scale and simplicity," said Ryan Breslow, Founder and CEO of Bolt. "With Bolt Connect, we're giving them the tools to grow without the usual technical burden, while stablecoin support opens the door to faster, borderless payments for everyone in the network." Bolt is the latest example of global payment firms like Mastercard, Visa and Stripe racing to embrace stablecoins, a type of digital currency with prices anchored to an external asset such as fiat currencies, into their offerings. It's a $260 billion, and rapidly growing, asset class which promises programmable transactions and faster, cheaper cross-border payments than through traditional banking channels. Adoption is expected to accelerate after the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act to regulate the stablecoin sector. Bolt's stablecoin initiative came on the heels of debuting its financial "SuperApp" that allows users to hold, send and receive cryptocurrencies including stablecoins within the application.
CNBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Coinbase is the best performing stock in the S&P 500 in June, and may have even more room to run
Coinbase is the top performer in the S&P 500 in June, boosted by positive regulatory updates, product launches and, of course, its very inclusion in the benchmark stock index at the end of May. The crypto exchange's outperformance in the S&P 500 extends back to the April 8 market low, just after President Donald Trump's initial sweeping tariffs announcement sent stocks sinking. Coinbase is now on pace for its third straight monthly gain, 44% in June alone, and its first three-month rally since the end of 2023. On Thursday, the stock hit its highest level since the day of its initial public offering in 2021. "The S&P 500 inclusion, the Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act and very strong performance of Circle negated the false narratives for Coinbase and people are waking up," Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau told CNBC. "The two things holding Coinbase back were the issues of fee compression — it hasn't happened and in fact, Coinbase has been generating positive earnings consistently, which is why they were included in the S&P 500 — and regulatory uncertainty," he said. "Many people don't believe there will be any consensus coming out of Congress … the fact is we're seeing the passage of the GENIUS Act." The GENIUS Act establishes the first federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins, granting sweeping authority to the Department of Treasury and opening the door to banks, fintechs, and retailers. Even with Coinbase's 44% run this month, the stock has room to appreciate further, according to Devin Ryan, head of financial technology research at Citizens JMP Securities. He said the market isn't fully connecting the dots around Coinbase's close relationship with Circle Internet Group. Circle debuted on the New York Stock Exchange June 5 and has soared more than 500% since. According to a revenue share agreement, Coinbase keeps 100% of the revenue generated on all USDC held on Coinbase, plus nearly 50% of all other USDC revenues, "which is 99% of Circle's current revenue," Ryan said. USDC is a Circle-issued stablecoin, which are a subset of cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of real-world assets. About 99% of all stablecoins are tethered to the price of the U.S. dollar. "Yet, Coinbase doesn't incur any of the operating costs borne by Circle," Ryan said. "If the market is right on the current bullish view for Circle, Coinbase is another way to play that — and with the financial connection described, it would seem there's a lot more value left in Coinbase." Coinbase, whose core business is crypto trading, has been expanding its suite of crypto services over the past several quarters to include areas like custody, staking, wallet services and stablecoins. This month, the company beefed up its subscription plan by offering it with its first crypto-backed credit card in partnership with American Express. It also introduced a partnership with Shopify and debuted a stablecoin payments service for e-commerce. JPMorgan also partnered with the crypto company to launch its own version of a stablecoin, which it's calling a "deposit token" on Coinbase's in-house built blockchain, Base. "There's clearly a sentiment trade occurring in crypto as institutional investors are looking at the space, many for the first time, and want to express a positive view on crypto evolving from a speculative asset class to one of utility — with legislative clarity as the key catalyst — and Coinbase is the most direct way to invest in that thesis," Ryan said. If there's one concern, it's in trading volume, said Oppenheimer's Lau. The average daily volume of crypto transactions on the Coinbase platform has been trending lower since April, which could be a risk for the company and other crypto trading providers heading into the second half of the year. The analyst is optimistic the regulatory outlook can turn that around though, specifically if the industry gets market structure legislation on top of stablecoin legislation. "If the GENIUS Act brought us to 'stablecoin summer' then I believe that the eventual passage of the CLARITY Act can bring us into altcoin summer," Lau said. "So at the end of this year, I do see another catalyst that can reverse this trend because there will be animal spirits, people will be buying altcoins like crazy if we get past the market structure bill."
CNBC
10 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Why Wall Street and Washington are excited about the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill
As Congress moves to pass the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation, lawmakers and top executives discuss on CNBC what the bill means for the industry. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) shares how the bill adds protections for users. Tether's Paolo Ardoino and Haun Ventures' Katie Haun break down the rise in stablecoin demand. Coinbase's Faryar Shirzad and Mizuho's Dan Dolev compare stablecoins to products already on the market. Ryan McInerney, Visa CEO, breaks down how the company will remain relevant and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev shares why he thinks the U.S. needs to compete in digital payment innovation.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Circle stock plunges, set to close lower after huge IPO surge
Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock is sliding today, capping a volatile stretch since its initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month. Yahoo Finance Senior Business Reporter Ines Ferré breaks down what's behind the moves, from the GENIUS Act's impact to interest rate risks and growing competition. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts here. Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle falling today here. The stock has had a volatile week, set to close in the red for its third full week of trading since its IPO. Yahoo Finance senior markets reporter Ines Ferre has the breakdown. Hey, Ines. Hey, Brad. Yeah, and we are watching Circle shares right now under pressure, down 10%. It has had a wild week. I am going to show you though, uh, the gains since its IPO on June 5th, more than 500% since that blockbuster IPO, despite all of this volatility. A lot of these gains have been fueled by the Genius Act that was passed in the Senate recently. This has been fueling optimism for broader adoption. This would set guard rails around the whole stable coin industry, which the stable coin industry, there's so much enthusiasm about it because it's supposed to be sort of revolutionizing the way payments are made. Seaport Global earlier this week put a buy rating on this stock and a $235 price target. Uh, the company makes most of its revenue from reserve income, and that's what it makes on the cash that backs its stable coins. Most of those are invested in short-term treasuries. This is important, I'll get to it in a second. Now, some analysts have been warning about rising competition on the heels of this Genius Act, which is expected to be finalized by later this year. But also, another headwind would be if interest rates were to be cut, then, uh, you would see the money made on those treasuries, that would be lower. So, um, that's some of the headwinds that Wall Street has been pointing out. But I do also want to stress what analysts time and again have been talking about, and this strategic importance or collaboration between the government and the stable coin industry because these stable coin issuers, Circle and Tether, are huge buyers of short-term treasury bills. So they're huge buyers of US debt. And JP Morgan is projecting that stable coin issuers will become top buyers, leapfrogging other countries. So this is massive for the entire industry. And this is why many on Wall Street are bullish that the stable coin industry is just getting started because of the US government will want to collaborate with some of its biggest buyers of its short-term debt. Yeah, it's certainly been a run for Circle since its IPO. But here, we're going to continue to watch what some of that demand looks like for stable coins, and Circle has found itself at a central force type of position within that conversation right now, Ines. Thank you. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
