Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Praises Genius Act

On October 21, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent characterized the Genius Act, which regulates stablecoins in the United States, as a watershed moment in American finance, according to YahooStocks0. Bessent compared the legislation to President Lincoln's National Currency Act of 1863, which established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The stablecoin market currently stands at $298 billion. According to the Chainalysis crypto research group, AI agents have executed over 138 million stablecoin payments using x402, a protocol developed by Coinbase for stablecoin transactions. Data from Circle shows that 99.3% of x402 agent-payment dollars settled in USDC during August.

Market Impact and Distribution Costs

While automated payments continue to grow, individual transactions remain small. In July, x402 handled approximately 75 million payments valued at $24 million, representing an average of about $0.32 per transaction. The Genius Act bans stablecoin issuers from paying interest to holders, while issuers continue to generate yield from backing reserves.

Publicly traded firms and major distributors capture the financial activity surrounding stablecoins. Circle paid $410.4 million in distribution and transaction costs during the second quarter, representing 58.5% of its $701.3 million revenue. Coinbase collected $292 million in stablecoin revenue over the same period through distribution fees and transaction charges on its Base blockchain network.

Key facts

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the Genius Act a watershed moment in American finance on October 21.
• The U.S. stablecoin market is valued at $298 billion.
• Chainalysis reported over 138 million AI agent-made payments processed via the x402 protocol.
• Circle paid $410.4 million in distribution and transaction costs in Q2, accounting for 58.5% of its $701.3 million revenue.
• Coinbase recorded $292 million in stablecoin revenue during the second quarter.