Crypto Industry Leaders React To GENIUS Act: Ava Labs, T3RRA and Neo Executives Celebrate

• Crypto and blockchain leaders have responded to the passing of the GENIUS Act.
• The Senate passed the first-of-its-kind crypto legislation on June 17.
• By removing regulatory uncertainty, the Act opens the door for banks, fintechs, and enterprises to enter the stablecoin space with confidence.

The U.S. Congress has officially passed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act).

The legislation represents one of the most comprehensive federal efforts to date aimed at regulating and fostering the responsible growth of stablecoins, a class of digital assets with value typically pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar.

The GENIUS Act Passes

Stablecoins have seen a meteoric rise over the past few years.

From facilitating cross-border payments to serving as a gateway between traditional finance and decentralized applications, their adoption has accelerated among both institutional players and retail users.

Yet until now, the absence of a clear regulatory framework in the U.S. has limited broader participation from the financial sector.

With the GENIUS Act now moving to the House for consideration, the law would introduce a federal licensing regime, establish reserve requirements for issuers, and set guardrails to protect consumers while promoting innovation.

The move has triggered a wave of responses across the crypto and blockchain sectors, with industry leaders touting the law as a pivotal step toward regulatory clarity and long-term market confidence.

To better understand the potential impact of the GENIUS Act, CCN spoke with leading executives in blockchain and crypto about what the legislation could mean for the industry’s future and how it will shape it within the U.S. and beyond.

Crypto Industry Reacts

James Saruchera, Co-Founder at Afrik

“The GENIUS Act is a timely and pragmatic step toward bringing clarity to the digital asset space, particularly for stablecoins, which are fast becoming foundational to global finance.

“In a previous role launching Africa’s first stablecoin, I saw firsthand how lower-cost, instant, borderless transactions can unlock enormous potential for trade and financial inclusion, especially in underserved markets.

“While some details of the GENIUS Act, such as the balance between state and federal oversight, remain open to debate, the broader direction is welcome.”

John Wu, President at Ava Labs

“Today marks a pivotal moment that reflects the Administration’s proactive approach on crypto legislation. This is a foundation for legitimizing stablecoins, embedding them into the global network of money movement and setting a global standard for other countries.

“The GENIUS Act will reshape global trade, kick-start digital economies, from gaming to micropayments, and reinforce the U.S. dollar’s dominance. It’s a leap forward—cutting costs, removing friction, and making finance faster and smarter.”

“It’s a genius act that lives up to its name.”

Paul Brody, Principal & Global Blockchain Leader at Ernst & Young

“Increased regulatory clarity for stablecoins will increase adoption and bring in high quality competitors. Stablecoins are the foundation that will bring consumers, investors, and enterprises on-chain. They’re not the whole story, however.

“Payments are just part of the commercial process – for the ecosystem to flourish we need products, services, digital assets and privacy to all scale on chain. This is the starting line, not the finish line.”

Laurent Descout, CEO and Co-founder at Neo

“Stablecoins are currently shaking up the cross-border payments landscape.”

“Thanks to their ability to facilitate near-instantaneous transactions with lower fees compared to different payment processes. By pegging their value to fiat currencies like the dollar or euro, stablecoins provide security, transparency, and reliability in financial transactions, making them a viable payment option for goods and services in the real economy.”

“While it’s too early to say whether stablecoins will overtake traditional payment methods, regulatory moves like this show that adoption is accelerating. Treasurers need to stay ahead, by monitoring the evolving regulatory environment, evaluating their options, and choosing the right partners and platforms to support stablecoin transactions.”

Yuval Rooz, CEO and co-founder at Digital Asset

“The passage of the GENIUS Act marks a pivotal shift in how stablecoins are regulated in the United States. It represents a long-awaited shift from regulation by enforcement to regulation by clarity, unlocking institutional confidence in the U.S. market.

“The Act provides banks with a clear framework to confidently engage with stablecoins, unlocking stalled strategies by ensuring full reserves, regular audits, and substantive consumer protections. These guardrails boost regulatory and institutional trust, expanding the reach of secure, dollar-backed digital currencies across both retail and institutional markets.

“We hope this legislation helps dismantle the long-standing barriers between the traditional and decentralized finance markets. By embracing clear guardrails and embedding trust-driven design principles, we’re paving the way for a safer, more open, and resilient financial ecosystem powered by compliant and transparent digital dollars.”

Dr. Zurab Ashvil, Founder & CEO at T3RRA

“By clearly positioning the CFTC as the lead regulator for digital assets, the Clarity Act introduces a long-overdue functional distinction between commodities and securities in the digital world. This alone could unlock significant institutional capital currently sidelined by regulatory ambiguity.

“For tokenized real-world assets, including real estate and yield-bearing instruments like those powered by T3RRA, CFTC leadership means a more principle-based and innovation-friendly environment. It gives builders the room to operate under clear rules, rather than fear of retroactive enforcement.

“The GENIUS Act’s amendments also signal a maturing political appetite to treat blockchain as infrastructure — not just speculative technology. If passed, the combination of these two acts could serve as a blueprint for other jurisdictions, including the EU, U.K., and Asia, where lawmakers are already monitoring U.S. progress closely.

“The U.S. has a narrow window to lead this transformation. If these bills pass, it will send a strong signal that Washington is ready to compete with MiCA and take the global lead in digital financial infrastructure.”

Anil Oncu, CEO at Bitpace

“The [GENIUS Act] provides the clarity businesses have been waiting for and allows stablecoins’ speed and cost benefits to be safely integrated by banks, PSPs, and card networks.

“For payment providers bridging fiat and crypto, this means deeper global adoption, from B2B settlements to retail checkouts.

“With stablecoin supply now at $239 billion, up from under $10 billion five years ago, regulation is essential. Many U.S. institutions remain cautious due to unclear rules, however, a unified framework removes that barrier and will unlock pent-up institutional demand.

“If implemented well, the act could drive global stablecoin growth, boost merchant use, and give consumers confidence that every tokenized dollar is as safe as one in the bank.”

Marit Rødevand, CEO and Co-Founder at Strise

“In its aspirational attempt at ushering in a new form of banking, this Act has made the stablecoin sector – already ripe for exploitation – a potentially even greater ally for bad actors.

“Stablecoin already accounts for 63% of cryptocurrency-related criminal activity. Tether – the market- share leading coin – has been cited by the UN as the preferred choice of Southeast Asian money launderers.

“We only need to look at Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse in 2023 and the consequences for Circle, due to its holding of reserves in the bank.

“The GENIUS Act does little to monitor these reserves, ceding stablecoins worth less than $50 billion to state regulation to deal with as larger entities are subject only to ‘independent’ audits.

“If toying with systematic financial collapse and the flourishing of criminal activity is its goal, then the GENIUS Act is definitely a landmark piece of law-making.”