Will The Updated GENIUS Bill Kill DeFi?

• The updated stablecoin bill- the Genius Act- raises questions about regulation, decentralization, and the future of DeFi.
• Stablecoin issuers may be required to freeze or burn tokens, raising concerns about technical feasibility and censorship resistance.
• The bill aims to integrate stablecoins with traditional finance, potentially bridging the gap between centralized and decentralized systems.

Crypto lawyer Jeremy Hogan is pointing out key issues about the updated version of the Genius Act, a proposed stablecoin bill brought by Senator Bill Hagerty. Introduced in February, the legislation aims to regulate dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, addressing issues like reserve requirements, anti-money laundering (AML) measures, and interactions with foreign and state laws.

While Hogan acknowledges the bill’s potential benefits for USDC and RLSUD, he also raises concerns about its impact on Tether’s USDT and its broader decentralization implications.

One crucial aspect of the Genius Act mandates issuers to have the technological capability to comply with lawful orders, including the ability to freeze, burn, or prevent the transfer of stablecoins. Hogan not only questions its technical feasibility for issuers like Ripple and Circle but also raises concerns about the potential conflict between regulatory compliance and the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies.

Secondly, the Genius Act seeks stablecoin integration with the traditional digital banking system, suggesting a potential “merge” between the two financial worlds. This could broaden the role of decentralized finance (DeFi) and put these asset class at the forefront of traditional and decentralized systems.

Key Provisions and Concerns in the Stablecoin Act

As shared by FOX journalist Eleanor Terrett, the updated text of the Genius Act also expands the section on reciprocity for stablecoins issued overseas, aiming to facilitate international transactions and interoperability.

The updated version of the bill includes new text addressing various aspects of the regulation, like “reserve requirements, supervision, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism features, sanctions compliance standards, liquidity requirements, and risk management standards, to facilitate international transactions and interoperability with United States dollar-denominated payment stablecoins issued overseas.

Furthermore, Hogan’s analysis of the Genius Act raise important discussions about the future of fiat-backed digital dollars and their role in the evolving financial ecosystem. The bill’s potential impact on issuers, the balance between regulation and decentralization, and the integration with traditional finance are all key issues that warrant further consideration.