Where fiat currencies and crypto meet

Snapshot facts

• Digital euro: if EU legislation is adopted in the course of 2026, issuance could occur during 2029 (ECB guidance).
• United States: retail CBDC effectively halted; FedNow is RTP, not a CBDC.
• Regulation: GENIUS Act enacted 18 Jul 2025; MiCA transitional period ended 1 Jul 2026.
• Visa (8 Sep 2026): stablecoin settlement passed a $20B annualized run rate, up more than 15x year over year (from $7B in April, across 9 chains).
• Visa Direct (15 Oct 2026): Visa moved Visa Direct stablecoin prefunding from pilot to commercial production, with Inyo Global as the first enabler; eligible clients can prefund cross-border Visa Direct payouts with USDC in near real time (Visa newsroom).

How GENIUS Act implementation works (dated)

The GENIUS Act (Public Law 119-27, enacted July 18, 2025) sets the framework, but agencies write the detailed rules. On Sep 24, 2026 the Federal Reserve Board (press release) asked for comment on two proposed rules for Board-supervised payment stablecoin issuers, published in the Federal Register on Sep 29 (Docket R-1899, FR Doc 2026-19860, Docket R-1900, FR Doc 2026-19899); comments are due Nov 30, 2026. On Sep 30 Treasury published an interim final rule (FR Doc 2026-19966) setting forms and procedures for reviewing state certifications under the Act, also open for comment until Nov 30. Under the statute, the Act takes effect on the earlier of 18 months after enactment or 120 days after the primary federal regulators issue final implementing regulations.