The GENIUS Act: What US Businesses Need to Know About Stablecoins in 2026

For years the biggest blocker to stablecoin payments in the US was not technology — it was legal uncertainty. That changed on 18 July 2025, when the GENIUS Act was signed into law. It is the first federal framework for payment stablecoins, and for a business deciding whether to accept USDC, it is the green light that was missing.

What the GENIUS Act actually does

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) creates a federal regime for "payment stablecoins" — dollar-pegged tokens like USDC used for payments. It defines who is allowed to issue them and the rules they must follow.

• Only permitted issuers may issue a payment stablecoin for US persons — a subsidiary of an insured depository institution, or a federally or state-qualified issuer.
• 100% reserve backing in liquid assets such as US dollars and short-dated Treasuries, with monthly public disclosure of reserves.
• Issuers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act — real AML, sanctions screening and customer identification programs.
• Compliant payment stablecoins are carved out of the federal "security" and "commodity" definitions, removing a major source of ambiguity.

The key point: it regulates issuers, not merchants

This is the part most summaries get wrong. The GENIUS Act's obligations fall on the issuer of the stablecoin — for USDC, that is Circle — not on the merchant who accepts it. A hotel or shop accepting USDC is not becoming a regulated stablecoin issuer. What the law gives that business is confidence that the dollar it is being paid in sits inside a federal framework with reserve and disclosure requirements behind it.

The GENIUS Act does not make accepting USDC complicated. It makes the USDC you accept trustworthy — federally regulated, fully reserved, and transparently disclosed.

What it means for your business

In practice, the legal clarity is what unlocks enterprise adoption. It is a large part of why so many US merchants now accept crypto, and why accepting USDC is a defensible decision for a CFO rather than a risky one.

How Furlpay fits

Furlpay is a payments platform, not a stablecoin issuer — we help businesses accept USDC (issued by Circle under the GENIUS Act framework) on Arbitrum for a flat 0.5%. We are honest about our own status and do not claim to be a GENIUS Act issuer. See how acceptance works on the payments page and the honest cost breakdown in Crypto vs Card Fees.

This article is information, not legal advice. The GENIUS Act was signed 18 July 2025 and its implementing rules continue to develop; consult qualified counsel about your specific situation.