The New Era of Digital Assets: BlackRock's Vision of the Dual-Track Revolution in Stablecoins and Bitcoin

As the ink dried on the Genius Actat the White House, a new chapter unfolded in American financial history. Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute, keenly grasped the profound implications of this turning point—stablecoins had ascended from regulatory gray areas to legitimate payment instruments, while Bitcoin was redefined as a unique return driver. This steward of trillions sketched a dual-track future for digital assets in his latest market outlook.

Legislators on Capitol Hill likely never anticipated their carefully crafted regulatory framework would trigger global capital market ripples. The Genius Act’s triple constraints—interest payment bans, issuer restrictions, and reserve asset mandates—appeared limiting yet bestowed stablecoins with unprecedented legal identity. BlackRock’s analysts discerned that this "de-investment positioning" precisely defined stablecoins’ core function as payment tools.

When issuers like Tether and Circle were required to lock $120 billion reserves in sub-93-day Treasuries, repos, and money market funds, the foundation for a new payment infrastructure was laid.

Dollar hegemony gained unexpected reinforcement. The bill’s "dollar-tokenized payment ecosystem" dramatically lowered barriers to dollar access in emerging markets. BlackRock noted this penetration could strengthen the greenback’s global trade dominance, though Europe’s digital euro exploration and Hong Kong’s regulatory innovations posed potential challenges.

Crucially, the interest ban served as a moat for traditional banks, preventing stablecoins from becoming "low-friction competitors" disrupting deposit systems.

While stablecoins constructed payment networks, Bitcoin charted a divergent evolutionary path. BlackRock positioned it as a "unique risk-return driver," reflecting deep understanding of regulatory shifts.

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