Stablecoins dominate the conversation at Bitcoin 2025

Stablecoins were the headline story at Bitcoin 2025 this week in Las Vegas, not Bitcoin. The three-day event, which pulled in a crowd of 35,000, saw major political names and crypto executives focusing heavily on dollar-pegged tokens, not the coin that started it all.

According to CNBC, what dominated the stage was a growing political alliance pushing legislation to bring stablecoins into the core of US financial power.

Vice President JD Vance showed up to deliver a full public endorsement of the space, becoming the first VP to speak directly to Bitcoiners. “I think it’s wrong, actually, to call this just a conference,” JD told attendees. “This is a movement. And I’m proud to stand with you.”

JV also made it clear the White House now sees stablecoins as an asset. “We do not think that stablecoins threaten the integrity of the US dollar. Quite the opposite,” he said. “We view them as a force multiplier of our economic might.”

Congress pushes stablecoin bill as GOP sets deadline

Bo Hines, who runs the president’s Digital Assets Council, said stablecoin rails are being streamlined to secure the US dollar’s dominance “for decades to come.” Bo told CNBC the White House believes this could unlock trillions of dollars in demand for American debt from global buyers. The entire playbook is tied to a new bill, the GENIUS Act, now heading to the floor of the US Senate.

Senator Cynthia Lummis told the crowd that a deal had been reached after weeks of negotiations with Democrats. “We think we have a final deal,” Cynthia said. “If we can get this passed, this will be the first piece of digital asset legislation to pass the US Senate.” A cloture vote is expected Monday.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer praised Senator Bill Hagerty for speeding up what he called a “calcified” Senate and said Republicans want to get both the stablecoin and market structure bills to President Donald Trump’s desk before August recess. “The president promised this,” Tom said. “We want it done now.”

Rep. Bryan Steil, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Digital Assets, said the stablecoin bill will reach the House Financial Services Committee by July. Bryan said it would allow issuers to buy US Treasuries at a crucial moment. “It enshrines the US dollar in our dominant role as the world’s reserve currency,” he said.

Bryan also dismissed Democratic efforts to add an amendment that would block government officials from benefiting from stablecoin companies. That clause was reportedly aimed at the Trump family, who are linked to World Liberty Financial, the firm behind the new USD1 token.

Tether expands while Wall Street builds competition

The biggest issuer in the stablecoin space right now is Tether, and its CEO Paolo Ardoino said the next big use case will come from commodity traders, not banks. Paolo said Tether is ready for what’s next. “All the traditional financial firms will create stablecoins that will be offered to their existing customers,” he told CNBC. But he argued those firms are boxed in by their own high-fee business models.

Instead of chasing wealthy users, Paolo said Tether is focusing on reaching the global majority who don’t have access to banks. “Many of our competitors say, ‘Oh, Tether is serving this niche of the unbanked.’ Half of the population of the world should not be called a niche,” he said.

While Paolo was onstage in Vegas, The Wall Street Journal reported that JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citi are in early talks to launch a joint digital dollar to compete directly with Tether. The battle between legacy finance and crypto-native firms is now on-chain.

Kraken CEO Dave Ripley, who’s been in private talks with lawmakers, told CNBC the bill is critical to bringing big banks and brokers into the space. But he said there are still issues to resolve, like whether users can earn yield and what rules apply to politicians investing in stablecoin companies. “Crypto is all about individuals,” Dave said. “Let’s bring the value to them.”

There’s also a loud change happening at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency once seen as the crypto world’s biggest problem. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said change was overdue. “For many years now, I’ve been complaining about the fact that the commission has not taken proactive steps to provide clarity,” Hester said. “Now finally, we’re at a place where we can do that.”