A stablecoin is a blockchain-based currency (cryptocurrency), the value of which is designed to be stable relative to an underlying asset such as (and most often) the U.S. dollar. For example, one Tether (USDT, the largest stablecoin on the market) is designed to be equal to one U.S. dollar. You could think of stablecoins as the cash of the crypto ecosystem: they’re what you hold when you want to remain within the crypto ecosystem without exposing your money to the high volatility of coins such as bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH) or Solana (SOL).
Stablecoins are so important to the crypto ecosystem that:
Although stablecoins are important to crypto, they’re also dangerous if not properly regulated, as explained in my previous column). To address this issue, on June 17, 2025, the U.S. Senate approved the so-called GENIUS Act, which seeks to provide a regulatory framework for issuing U.S.-dollar stablecoins. (GENIUS stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins.”) It is not yet law. The U.S. House of Representatives must still vote on the GENIUS Act. That could happen as early as July — however, we can’t predict the timeline for certain.
There’s another reason for crypto investors to take note of stablecoins right now: Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL, the company behind the stablecoin USDC) went public through an IPO on June 5, 2025. In its short trading life to date, it’s had a blockbuster listing and meteoric price rise:
This stellar listing has highlighted the hunger on Wall Street for publicly traded crypto companies. It doesn’t hurt that, unlike many other tech IPOs over the past few years, CRCL actually turns a profit. In 2024, Circle saw revenues of $1.67 billion and a net profit of $157 million.
Everybody — customers and merchants alike — hate pesky credit card fees. Each time you pay with your credit or debit card, companies like Visa or Mastercard charge what’s called an “interchange fee,” and for large companies this expense runs into billions of dollars per year.
Understandably, large retailers like Walmart and Amazon aren’t very happy with this, and (as reported by The Wall Street Journal) stablecoins could provide them with an additional payment method without the fees.
