---
title: "GENIUS Act (US Stablecoin Law)"
url: "https://www.unknowngravity.com/en/glosario/genius-act"
site: Unknown Gravity
published: "2026-08-13T12:24:12+00:00"
modified: "2026-08-13T12:24:12+00:00"
language: en-US
description: "The GENIUS Act is the first major US federal crypto law, signed in July 2025. It does for dollar stablecoins roughly what MiCA did in Europe: only authorised entities may issue them, with one dollar…"
section: "Home > GENIUS Act (US Stablecoin Law)"
---

# GENIUS Act (US Stablecoin Law)

GLOSSARY · BLOCKCHAIN & WEB3

What the GENIUS Act regulates — the first US federal stablecoin law: 1:1 reserves, authorised issuers, no interest to holders, and how it compares to MiCA.

WHAT IS IT? · FOR DUMMIES

The **GENIUS Act** is the first major US federal crypto law, signed in July 2025. It does for dollar stablecoins roughly what MiCA did in Europe: only **authorised entities** may issue them, with **one dollar of reserves per token** and audits. If Europe led the way with MiCA, the GENIUS Act confirms that regulated tokenized money is the global direction of travel.

WHAT IS IT? · PRO

The **GENIUS Act** (*Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins*), signed on 18 July 2025, creates the federal framework for **payment stablecoins** in the US: issuance reserved to authorised entities (bank subsidiaries and licensed non-bank issuers, federal or state route), **1:1 reserves in cash and short-term government debt**, periodic reserve disclosures, AML obligations and **holder priority** if the issuer becomes insolvent. It takes effect in stages as implementing rules are finalised.

Two features define its character: the **prohibition on paying interest** to holders — a payment stablecoin must not compete with bank deposits — and the requirement of comparable standards for foreign issuers distributing in the US. The parallel with the *e-money token* regime under [MiCA](/en/glosario/mica-reglamento-criptoactivos) is deliberate: both converge on authorised issuers, full reserves and redemption at par, as we explain in our [euro stablecoin](/en/articulos/euro-stablecoin-mica) guide.

## 01 / Key points

- First US federal stablecoin law (signed 18 July 2025)
- 1:1 reserves in cash and short-term government debt, with periodic disclosures
- Authorised issuers only; holders rank first in insolvency
- No interest to holders; converges with the MiCA EMT regime

## 02 / Advantages

- **Legal certainty** for the largest stablecoin market in the world
- **Regulatory convergence** with Europe (MiCA): same spirit, two frameworks
- **Accelerates bank entry** into tokenized money

## 03 / Disadvantages

- **Implementing rules pending**: fine detail arrives with secondary regulation
- **No yield**: interest-bearing tokens remain in a grey zone
- **Payments-only framework**: does not address tokenized securities

This entry is informative. It is not legal, tax or investment advice. The rules cited change: check the current version on [BOE](https://www.boe.es) and [EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu).