The GENIUS Act passes: U.S. backs Stablecoins

PLUS: Circle IPO drama deepens, CME opens XRP futures, Garlinghouse calls out Lummis, and Solana unlocks new liquidity layers.

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Cryptopolitan News
May 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

📬 Today’s Byte

• The GENIUS Act just passed

• Ripple win? Not so fast.

• CME Launches XRP Futures with $1.5M Volume.

🇺🇸 The GENIUS Act just passed: U.S. moves toward Stablecoin clarity

The U.S. Senate has officially approved the “GENIUS Act”,  the first major federal framework to regulate stablecoins. For an industry long stuck in limbo, this is the biggest leap toward legal clarity we’ve seen in years.

What changed? A dramatic bipartisan turnaround. After the bill initially failed to move forward last week, five key Democrats reversed their positions and backed the measure late Monday night. With over 60 votes in favor, the bill now heads to the House  and could be signed by President Trump within days.

What’s in the bill:

  • Clear rules for issuing stablecoins backed by dollars or Treasury assets.

  • Oversight from the Federal Reserve, plus strict AML/ATF compliance.

  • A legal greenlight for stablecoins like PYUSD, USDC, and even political tokens like Trump’s “USD1.”

Why it matters:

This isn't just a win for stablecoins, it’s a strategic play to keep the U.S. dollar competitive in the global digital economy. Backers call it a “pro-dollar” and “pro-growth” law that gives innovators room to build, while finally setting guardrails.

Still, not everyone’s on board. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it “a gift to Trump” and warned it could legitimize his own stablecoin venture. But others, like Paradigm’s Justin Slaughter and the DeFi Education Fund, say it’s the best shot we’ll get for years.

❝

This is a critical step toward regulatory clarity, and U.S. leadership in digital finance.

Ji Kim, Acting CEO, Crypto Council for Innovation

The takeaway: The U.S. just went from stablecoin deadlock to near-certainty. Regulation is here and the game just changed.

Brad Garlinghouse took to X to criticize Senator Cynthia Lummis after a scheduled meeting in D.C. was abruptly canceled. With Lummis under fire for her Bitcoin-only approach—despite chairing the Senate’s Digital Assets Subcommittee—Garlinghouse called for a public dialogue to push for a truly multichain crypto framework.

💼 Deal Flow

Circle, the company behind the $32B USDC stablecoin, might be ditching its long-teased IPO and instead quietly shopping itself for a sale.

According to Fortune, Circle has been in private talks with both Coinbase and Ripple since early April. The startup is seeking a $5 billion valuation. And while it filed S-1 paperwork to go public, there’s no confirmed date.

Here’s where it gets interesting:

  • Coinbase has the inside track. The two companies co-founded USDC through the Centre Consortium back in 2018. That ended in 2023, but the relationship didn’t. They still split USDC’s interest revenue 50/50 unless the reserves are on Coinbase, in which case Coinbase gets it all.

  • Circle can’t even sign a revenue-sharing deal with anyone else without Coinbase’s approval. And in case Circle goes bankrupt? Coinbase can claim a piece of its intellectual property.

Ripple tried to buy Circle too. It offered $4–5 billion. But Circle said no.

Why? Because even though Ripple holds billions in assets (including $95B in escrowed XRP), Coinbase has more influence, more flexibility, and arguably more synergy.

And with Coinbase joining the S&P 500 this week, its $56 billion market cap just got a fresh boost. CEO Brian Armstrong said, “Nothing to announce today,” but also admitted Coinbase is always looking for good M&A targets.

The bottom line: Circle’s IPO may be drifting  and a full sale is now in play. Coinbase has leverage, Ripple has capital, but only one can buy the stablecoin issuer. If Circle gives up on going public, expect this to escalate.

Just as Coinbase eyes S&P 500 inclusion, the DOJ has launched an investigation into a major internal data breach that exposed top executives' personal info — including Sequoia’s Roelof Botha.

📊 Market Watch

 CME Launches XRP Futures with $1.5M Volume. Is a Spot ETF Next?

XRP just scored a major institutional milestone.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched XRP futures trading on May 19, logging $1.5 million in notional volume on its first day. Both standard contracts (50K XRP each) and micro contracts (2.5K XRP each) saw strong participation. Trades settled against the CME CF XRP-Dollar Reference Rate, with prices averaging $2.40.

The contracts are cash-settled and available under the CFTC’s commodity classification of XRP. With this launch, CME’s XRP futures:

  • Outpaced dYdX in daily notional volume

  • Trailed only BitMEX ($19.3M) and HTX ($20.9M) in XRP derivatives trading

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called it an “institutional achievement,” noting that Hidden Road executed the first block trade.

Why this matters:

Futures on CME have historically paved the way for spot ETF approvals and analysts say XRP may follow that path soon.

  • Nate Geraci (ETF Store) said a spot ETF is “only a matter of time”

  • Eric Balchunas (Bloomberg) confirmed eight XRP ETF applications are currently under SEC review

  • Polymarket odds of a 2025 spot ETF approval stand at 84%

A few known applicants include Bitwise, Grayscale, 21Shares, and WisdomTree. Each brings deep ETF experience and sizable AUM and the CME listing gives them more space to argue XRP is ready for the big leagues.

The takeaway: CME futures may have unlocked the next chapter for XRP and the ETF race is heating up.

Chainlink’s CCIP goes live on Solana, marking the first non-EVM chain integration. Meanwhile, BTC liquidity layer Yala launches on Solana, and the Solana Conference kicks off in New York with big ecosystem announcements.

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