Gareth Jenkinson, Managing Editor at Cointelegraph, joins Remy Blaire to discuss the recent passage of the Genius Act in the Senate, which aims to create a framework for stablecoins fully backed by the U.S. dollar. Additionally, Gareth shares his insights on this significant development for the cryptocurrency space. He expressed optimism about the bill’s potential to enhance stablecoin adoption in the U.S., although he noted the challenges it faces in the House, particularly from Democrats concerned about potential conflicts of interest involving the Trump family.
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The Genius Act passed the Senate in a 68 to 30 vote.
This bill creates a framework for stable coins and requires them to be fully backed by the US dollar.
It's now up to the House of Representatives to send it to Trump's desk, and the beginning of the week was a big day for ETFs. helped US spot Bitcoin ETFs record $412 million in net inflows.
Well joining me to weigh in is Gareth Jenkinson, managing editor for Coin Telegraph.
Gareth, thank you so much for joining us.
While the Senate finally did it, what was your initial reaction to the Genius Act passing?
Yeah, it happened overnight.
Obviously, I'm here in, uh, in the Netherlands, so, uh, pretty late at night when, uh, the bill was passed through the Senate.
I think it's a fantastic, um, Uh, moment for, uh, the cryptocurrency space in general in the United States.
And, uh, it's a very, very positive sign for stablecoin adoption and use in the United States.
Of course, uh, this legislation still needs to pass through the House.
Um, so there is another hurdle there and, and there are some, uh, you know, political factors at play there.
Um, a lot of, uh, Democrats, uh, very much against, uh, the Genius Act and, and some sort of, you know, political concerns around, um, Uh, you know, uh, conflicted interests, especially with, uh, the Trumps, uh, having a very large stake in World Liberty Financial and launching their own stablecoins.
But overall, it's, it's a very positive piece of news and a lot of the, uh, industry figures that we've been speaking to here at Coin Telegraph have painted a very, uh, positive outlook for this, um, for this outcome.
Um, it does need to pass one more hurdle, but of course, if it does go all the way, it creates a very, very clear framework for, um, how financial institutions can use and offer stablecoins in the United States.
And of course, we're kind of seeing this as the, the future of the digital dollar, as it were, uh, working on blockchain rail.
So, uh, very, very good news and, and definitely one that, uh, gave me a smile this morning.
Well, Gareth, speaking of good news, I do want to shine the spotlight on US spot.
Bitcoin ETFs which recorded $412 million in net inflows at the beginning of the week.
So take us through these inflows for crypto ETFs.
Yeah, we've, we've seen, uh, BlackRock continuing to, uh, hoo hoover up uh large amounts of Bitcoin for their.
Um, Bitcoin ETF, uh, among, uh, a number of the other, um, big, uh, ETF issuers in the United States.
Of course, the signals, uh, very, uh, large, uh, investor interest in acquiring, um, exposure to Bitcoin.
Uh, for those of, uh, your viewers that aren't so familiar with these Bitcoin ETFs, um, it's a financial product that, uh, essentially gives you a share, uh, in a, um, uh, a stock that is tied to the underlying asset of Bitcoin.
So, These Bitcoin ETF issuers hold the underlying Bitcoin and uh investors can buy shares in that and have uh indirect exposure to Bitcoin.
Of course, they were launched in January last year, so it's been a good year and a half since Bitcoin ETFs have been around.
And for the last 18 months, they have been the biggest buyer of Bitcoin around the world.
Forget about Michael Calor and strategy.
Bitcoin ETFs have been buying up a load of Bitcoin, um, almost daily 10 times more than the amount of Bitcoin that is mined around the world.
So, uh, we haven't, uh, reached a demand, uh, sort of shock yet, but, uh, a lot of industry experts are saying at some point that's gonna happen.
And when you see inflows like we had this week, it does make you wonder, is there enough Bitcoin to go around?
I'm, I'm, I'm not quite sure, but it's definitely pretty bullish for, for people that, uh, are believers in Bitcoin, believers in its value proposition is hard money.
And I definitely think it's, um, uh, it's something positive that came out of this week, especially with so much uncertainty, um, in the Middle East.
Yes, that is quite the substantial sum right there and as you mentioned, Gareth, I know that you're keeping tabs on a lot of stories that are unfolding and one story that's been getting headlined is Justin Son's tron.
So he is no stranger to controversy.
So tell us about his tron strategy plans to create the next big Bitcoin holding company.
Yeah, so this news came out this week and it's definitely been, uh, met with some sort of mixed, uh, um, reactions from the wider, um, you know, cryptocurrency industry and, and traditional finance, especially publications.
A lot of question marks around his relationship with the Trump family.
Um, of course, Eric Trump earlier this week kind of distanced himself from the news that uh Tron would be going public through a reverse merger, uh, with NASDAQ listed company, SRM Entertainment.
Um, they're gonna be buying tokens.
And, and also looking at holding some Bitcoin on their balance sheet.
But, but very interestingly, uh, holding TRX as part of this, um, you know, uh, this reserve.
Um, there's a lot of question marks around that as well, you know, uh, I think there's a very tried and tested, um, formula for Bitcoin reserve, uh, Bitcoin treasury companies and, and why they're garnering so much, uh, interest and investment.
You look at strategy.
Made a plant, 21, Nakamoto.
So, all these big companies coming out.
Butron have come out, uh, with this, uh, this new IPO and basically said they want to be holding TRX on their balance sheet.
Um, uh, there are a lot of questions, uh, around this IPO and, and, and how it's gonna work.
Of course, there are still a lot of questions around Justin Sun and some of the controversy that he is, uh, he's quartered in the United States.
Um, Some, you know, legal issues which were dropped this year, earlier this year in the United States, but still some, some very big question marks there.
Um, we, we're still looking into the story, uh, at Coin Telegraph and, uh, if you are interested in reading a bit more, you can, you can find these stories on our editor's Choice, uh, on our website.
But, um, a lot to dig into there and, and probably too much for me to, to break down properly, uh, in the, in the short amount of time that we have on the show.
OK, Gareth, well, we will have to leave it there, but we look forward to speaking with you again next week.
Thanks for having me.