Genius Act (The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) paved the way for digital dollar adoption, where even companies like Western Union with 175 years of history explore the opportunities for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and fiat currency exchanges alongside value storage tools for customers.
“We strengthened our leadership in American finance and cryptocurrency technology,” said Trump to the news outlets at the signing ceremony of the Genius Act.
“There’s an irony in crypto,” remarked Mark Carney, the former Governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, at a tech symposium by The New York Times. “One of the most important and consequential things it may end up enabling is the dollar’s greater success,” he added.
Western Union aims for innovation with stablecoins
An interview revealed by Bloomberg’s ‘The Close ‘ featured Western Union’s CEO Devin McGranahan speaking about the company’s new approach towards stablecoins. He emphasized the opportunities stablecoins could provide rather than being a threat, adding to their infrastructure adaptability and integrating the technology into global payments methods.
According to company executives, the firm is also talking to cryptocurrency experts to support various methods of exchanging stablecoins, aligning with Western Union’s aim to develop alternative channels for cash flow.
McGranahan says stablecoins are not a threat
The company emphasized three major areas where they could leverage stablecoin application, including faster international money transfers, a medium for converting fiat and digital assets, and value storage during economic instability.
“We see stablecoins really as an opportunity, not as a threat,” McGranahan said, pointing to ongoing pilot programs in South America and Africa to news outlets.
He added that they aim to accelerate the money transfer process and strengthen financial boundaries.
Western Union’s Foray into Crypto
Western Union is developing a way to protect funds against market volatility for their customers, while also bridging between the traditional financial infrastructure and next-generation assets.
However, this is not the first time the company has explored the Crypto world. They had registered for three trademarks for crypto-related products since late October 2022. They also entered into partnership with Ripple in 2015, for remittance settlement purposes.
Where the stablecoins heading?
Despite the positive callings for the Genius Act, critiques found their way to reflect on the potential risks. Senator Elizabeth Warren had expressed concerns over the volatility of the crypto world, paving opportunities for private currencies by tech billionaires, emphasizing the risk of market exploitation and data privatization.
Western Union’s push into stablecoin aligns well with what Darren Wang, founder and CEO at OwlTing Group, a blockchain tech company, who predicts that the stablecoin leader of tomorrow will be based on how short the channel of middlemen is and who builds an end-to-end payment network.
