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Stablecoins under new rules: the GENIUS Act, MiCA and the slowdown of USDT and USDC

The US bank regulator issued its final rule under the GENIUS Act on 21 October 2026, Europe's MiCA transition ended on 1 July and stablecoin supply has slipped from its May peak. What it means for USDT and USDC.

Stablecoins, tokens designed to keep a value of one dollar, had a total supply of about 301.6 billion dollars on 27 October 2026, according to DefiLlama. That is about 17% more than the 257.7 billion dollars recorded on 18 July 2025, the day the GENIUS Act was signed into law in the United States, but about 4% below the peak of 315.5 billion dollars reached on 17 May 2026.

The two largest tokens account for most of the market. USDT, issued by Tether, had a supply of about 182.1 billion dollars on 27 October 2026, and Circle's USDC about 71.3 billion dollars, according to DefiLlama. Together they make up about 84% of the total. Both grew quickly after the GENIUS Act: on 18 July 2025 USDT stood at about 161.5 billion dollars and USDC at about 64.1 billion. Over the last twelve months, however, growth has stopped. USDT was at about 183.1 billion dollars on 27 October 2025, almost unchanged, while USDC fell by about 6% from 75.8 billion dollars.

The US rules take shape. The GENIUS Act sets a federal framework for payment stablecoins: only permitted issuers may offer them in the United States, and each token must be fully backed by reserves. On 21 October 2026 the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued its final rule implementing the Act for the banks and issuers it supervises. The rule takes effect on 18 January 2027, the same day the Act does. Rules on anti-money laundering and sanctions will follow in a separate rulemaking with the Treasury Department.

According to a WilmerHale analysis published on 27 October, the final rule requires that reserve assets equal or exceed outstanding tokens at all times. It lowers the proposed daily liquidity floor from 10% to 5% and keeps the two business day deadline for redemptions, while dropping a proposed automatic extension to seven days. Issuers must notify the OCC within 24 hours if redemption requests exceed 10% of a token's issuance in 24 hours. The ban on paying interest or yield to holders stays. Foreign issuers are covered if they register to offer tokens in the United States. The OCC has not yet said when it will start accepting applications.

Europe has already turned the page. The European Securities and Markets Authority confirmed on 17 April 2026 that the transitional period of the MiCA regulation would end on 1 July 2026 with no extensions, according to Coinpaprika. Since then, firms that offer crypto services to EU clients need a MiCA licence, and dollar or euro stablecoins must come from an authorised issuer. Circle announced on 1 July 2024 that USDC and its euro token EURC were issued under MiCA through its French e-money licence. Tether did not seek authorisation for USDT, which is no longer offered on MiCA licensed trading platforms in the EU.

Tether has answered the US rules with a separate token. USAT, launched in January 2026, is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered bank. Its first monthly attestation, as of 31 January 2026, showed about 17.5 million USAT backed by about 17.6 million dollars of reserves, according to The Block. That is still small next to USDT.

Ethereum remains the main home of both tokens. On 27 October 2026 about 72.1 billion dollars of USDT and about 44.0 billion dollars of USDC circulated on Ethereum as ERC-20 tokens, according to DefiLlama, about 40% of USDT and about 62% of USDC. The rest runs on other networks, such as Tron and Solana.

What it means. For users, the new rules bring clearer standards on reserves and redemptions: already in force in the EU and coming in the United States from January 2027. The same ticker can exist on several blockchains, so the network matters: a transfer of USDC on Ethereum must go to an Ethereum address. Stablecoins are not bank deposits and are not covered by deposit insurance. The slowdown in supply since May shows that growth depends on demand for trading and payments, not on regulation alone.

Unicorn Club, the members-only club of Unicorn Private, accepts USDT and USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20), as well as BTC and ETH, for its club deals in pre-IPO companies. Our guide on how to invest in pre-IPO companies with crypto, linked among the sources, explains how it works.

This article is general information and not a personal recommendation. Investing involves the risk of losing capital.

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