GENIUS Act Poised to Unleash Trillions in Institutional Crypto Investments – Experts Break Down the Impact
The crypto market braces for a seismic shift as the GENIUS Act threatens to rewrite the rules of institutional investment. Wall Street's sleeping giants—pension funds, endowments, and sovereign wealth funds—are circling like sharks in chummed waters.
The trillion-dollar dam breaker
Forget retail FOMO. The real action starts when BlackRock's risk committee gets comfortable. The Act's regulatory clarity could funnel more capital into crypto in 12 months than the past 12 years combined.
Washington meets Satoshi
Bureaucrats finally grasp what crypto natives knew: you can't regulate what you don't understand. The GENIUS framework cuts through the regulatory jungle—no more guessing if a token's a security or a commodity.
Goldman analysts whisper about 'digital asset rehypothecation opportunities' (translation: they found a new way to lever up). Meanwhile, crypto OGs smirk—their early bets might finally get the exit liquidity they deserve.
Genius Act to boost global adoption
Regulatory clarity is what major institutions have been waiting for, said John McCarthy, General Counsel at the DeFi lending protocol Morpho. This applies not just to U.S. firms, but also to institutions around the world.
“That clarity likely will usher in numerous new issuers and drive adoption by institutions and retail alike for everything from payments to settlement to lending. It also sends a very strong signal globally,” McCarthy stated. I WOULD expect other countries to look very carefully at passing their own laws to enable tokenized forms of money.”
Other countries are already watching developments in the U.S., said Evan Auyang, Group President of Animoca Brands. Hong Kong, where the gaming company is headquartered, was an early mover, but now needs to act decisively, Auyang explained.
“Asset tokenisation is an inevitability, and for Hong Kong to preserve the city’s financial leadership, it needs to make stablecoins a strategic priority to ensure its success,” Auyang stated.
Stablecoins will transform everyday life
Stablecoin regulation unlocks the potential for companies to create products that reach millions, said Stephane Gosselin, CEO of OneBalance. These products will soon resemble traditional apps more than complex DeFi protocols.
“With improving regulations like the Genius Act, major platforms will soon onboard millions,” said Gosselin. “The future will see stablecoins powering everyday experiences without users needing to understand the complexity,” he added.
This growing adoption could transform everyday life for consumers, said Lane Rettig, Head of Research at the NEAR Foundation. One promising use case is remittances—but Rettig emphasized that regulators must leave room for startups to innovate.
“Stablecoins, especially dollar stablecoins, can help everyday families by making remittances faster, safer, and cheaper, and protecting their savings from inflation,” Retting stated. “But regulation, including this act, shouldn’t place too much of a compliance burden on cryptocurrency startups, and should ensure the right of ordinary citizens to privacy.”
Stablecoins could become a risk to privacy
Wider stablecoin adoption also creates a tangible risk to privacy, with some comparing them to central bank digital currencies. Rob Viglione, Co-Founder of Horizen Labs, one of the earliest zero-knowledge projects, launched in 2017, warns that privacy must be built into any stablecoin framework.
“Without privacy by design, stablecoins risk becoming programmable surveillance tools similar to CBDCs,” Viglione stated. Zero-knowledge proofs, FHE, and encrypted smart contracts prove that privacy and compliance can coexist. If we want stablecoins to serve everyone, not just institutions, we need to build for both,” he added.
