One year after President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, the stablecoin market has swelled to roughly $310 billion — a more than 50% increase from early 2025. But the regulatory framework that was supposed to come with the law is still mostly on paper.
Market growth since the GENIUS Act
Federal Reserve researchers measured stablecoin capitalization at $317 billion on April 6, 2026. USDT accounts for about $184 billion of that, USDC roughly $73 billion. Ethereum stablecoin transaction volume is up 50% since the act was enacted.
Regulatory progress still in proposal stage
As of July 17, 2026, core implementation measures of the GENIUS Act are still in proposal form. That means the detailed operating rules for issuers, reserve requirements, and oversight are not yet finalized. Alex Witt of Verda Ventures argued that charter decisions and product launches may give selected firms an early advantage before regulators complete those rules.
Enterprise adoption and infrastructure
Despite the regulatory uncertainty, adoption is accelerating. Kyle Sonlin, president and co-founder of Global Settlement Network, noted that governments and institutions now accept stablecoins as financial infrastructure. Triple-A CEO Eric Barbier reported a marked reduction in sales cycles for enterprise customers enabling stablecoin payments. Visa's stablecoin settlement pilot supported nine blockchains by April 2026 and reached a $7 billion annualized settlement run rate, up 50% from the previous quarter. On July 16, 2026, Visa introduced an enterprise platform providing access to stablecoin storage, redemption, minting, and burning through a single Visa-managed environment.
Diogo Cassinelli of Trace Finance stated that banking partners' independent compliance reviews add months to timelines for cross-border stablecoin payments. Edwin Mata, CEO of Brickken, noted that regulated dollars can serve as the cash leg for tokenized securities and other on-chain financial products.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved national trust bank applications involving Ripple and another applicant, signaling that regulators are beginning to act on the charter front even as the broader rulebook remains unfinished.
