Today marks a defining moment for U.S. crypto policy. After years of regulatory limbo, Congress has taken a major step forward: the House passed both the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act — two sweeping measures that will reshape the rules of the road for crypto in the U.S. — and the president signed the GENIUS Act into law.
These major regulatory developments include federal licenses for stablecoin issuers, hard reserve requirements, and long-awaited clarity on the jurisdiction of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) versus the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
It’s the strongest signal yet that the U.S. is done playing catch-up and is ready to take a leading role to shape digital asset markets going forward. So, what does it all really mean? Let’s break it down from Chainalysis’s perspective.
What the GENIUS Act means for stablecoin compliance
The GENIUS Act introduces a range of fundamental requirements for the sector that will define how stablecoin issuers and their assets operate going forward. Here are a few of the key callouts:
Licensing: A Two-Tier System. The Act prohibits anyone other than a “permitted payment stablecoin issuer” from issuing a payment stablecoin in the United States. Entities can become permitted payment stablecoin issuers through dual federal and state licensing pathways.
- Under $10 billion market cap? You can choose a state-level license, but states must follow federal standards.
- Over $10 billion market cap? You must get a federal license, with oversight from the OCC or your relevant federal banking regulator.
Reserves: Fully Backed & Fully Disclosed. All stablecoins must be 100% backed by high-quality, liquid assets.
- Eligible assets include U.S. dollars, short-term Treasuries, repos, reverse repos backed by Treasuries, money market funds invested in eligible assets, and central bank reserve deposits
- The Act requires monthly reserve disclosures for all issuers; large issuers must also file annual financials.
AML & Sanctions: Full BSA Coverage. Issuers are now classified as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act:
- Must implement AML and KYC programs, monitor for suspicious activity and submit SAR filings where appropriate, and comply with OFAC sanction screening.
- Issuers will need to have the technological capability to comply with all lawful orders to seize, freeze, burn or prevent the transfer of outstanding stablecoins.
- The GENIUS Act also calls for a study and FinCEN guidance no later than three years after the date of enactment regarding (1) novel and innovative methods for detecting illicit finance; (2) standards for payment stablecoin issuers to identify, monitor, and report illicit activity involving payment stablecoins; and (3) tailored risk management standards for financial institutions interacting with decentralized finance protocols.
- Stablecoin compliance = full financial compliance, from day one.
What the CLARITY Act signals for oversight of the entire sector
In our CEO’s recent testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, he emphasized a clear message: without a federal framework for digital asset oversight, the U.S. risks losing control of its financial future. The CLARITY Act responds to that call, laying out an initial blueprint for integrating crypto firms and intermediaries into the U.S. regulatory system.
While the bill still awaits Senate review, it marks real progress toward consistent, enforceable oversight. Some of the key things that it brings to the table are:
SEC & CFTC: Clearer lines, less ambiguity
The bill assigns:
- CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over digital commodities
- SEC authority over digital securities
It also introduces long-awaited criteria to help distinguish digital commodities, investment contract assets, and payment stablecoins, thus removing ambiguity and giving both regulators and the industry a more reliable taxonomy for classification.
A functional market structure framework
The CLARITY Act proposes:
- Mandatory registration for market intermediaries
- Standards for custody and consumer protections
- AML/CFT compliance and anti fraud provisions that will require on chain monitoring alongside interagency coordination
- Guidelines for “sufficient decentralization”
While these are just some elements of what CLARITY covers and many of the details remain under debate, the direction is clear: the foundation of a safer, more transparent digital asset market are within reach.
Global ripple effects: How this positions the U.S. on the world stage
There is no country in which the development of digital asset regulation has been more closely watched than the United States. Now, with the passage of the GENIUS Act and progress of the CLARITY Act, the United States joins a growing group of countries that are firmly on their way to establishing clear regulatory frameworks for digital assets:
- Europe has implemented MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets), which mandates licensing, reserve disclosures, and risk controls for stablecoin issuers and crypto service providers across all EU member states.
- Singapore continues to lead with its licensing regime under the Payment Services Act, offering a clear pathway for compliant digital payment token businesses.
- Japan, a first mover in global crypto regulation, has also had stringent rules for stablecoin issuers in force since 2023.
In this new environment, regulators, financial institutions, and crypto businesses need a unified, global view of activity across jurisdictions. They must be able to trace funds across chains, geographies, and legal frameworks with full confidence in accuracy and attribution.
Chainalysis does this at scale. We help:
- Regulators understand the exposures of their licensees in near real time.
- Financial institutions assess counterparty risk based on activity in any jurisdiction, not just their own.
- Crypto businesses maintain compliance with international obligations, such as the FATF Travel Rule, sanctions screening, and stablecoin reserve tracking
Whether you’re responding to MiCA, GENIUS, or future legislation in the APAC region, Chainalysis is the connective tissue that links global compliance together.
What institutions should do next
Crypto businesses: With the implementation of the GENIUS Act, existing stablecoin issuers must reassess their risk management policies to ensure alignment with the new regulatory framework. This includes building or upgrading AML compliance programs that incorporate real-time blockchain intelligence from Chainalysis to detect and mitigate risk. Additionally, firms should proactively monitor counterparties using Chainalysis screening tools to identify exposure to sanctioned entities, illicit actors, or high-risk behaviors, ensuring robust compliance in a more tightly regulated stablecoin environment.
Financial institutions: Financial institutions should proactively prepare for the onboarding and custody of stablecoins as regulatory clarity increases and market demand grows. By leveraging Chainalysis, institutions can effectively assess the risk profiles of stablecoin issuers, ensuring compliance with evolving standards and internal governance requirements. In addition, tracking liquidity flows and token velocity across blockchain networks provides critical insights for both regulatory compliance and strategic decision-making, enabling firms to stay ahead in a rapidly shifting digital asset landscape.
Regulators and investigators: Regulators and investigators should leverage Chainalysis to interpret blockchain activity and behavioral patterns at scale, enabling faster, data-driven decision-making. Our tools support enforcement actions, risk scoring, and seamless public-private collaboration to identify and disrupt illicit activity. Engage early — compliance is now a collaborative effort, and proactive coordination is key to staying ahead of emerging threats in the evolving stablecoin ecosystem.
This isn’t the end; it’s the start of serious crypto compliance
The House passage of the GENIUS and CLARITY bills does not mark the conclusion of crypto regulation; it marks the beginning of a new era of accountability, transparency, and innovation.
For too long, industry players operated in a gray zone, with vague guidance and uneven enforcement. These bills are a big step toward long-awaited clarity, but clarity alone isn’t enough. It’s what you do next that matters.
Whether you’re a stablecoin issuer, financial institution, policymaker, or investigator, the work of implementation starts now, and Chainalysis is here to help you do it.
Are you ready to lead in this new era?
Chainalysis offers the tools and expertise to help you:
- Automate AML compliance: See how KYT works in real time
- Assess asset-level risk across a token’s ecosystem Check out Chainalysis Sentinel
- Equip regulators and law enforcement for fast action: Request a demo
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