In Florida, the state senate passed a regulation covering stablecoin issuers and requiring them to obtain a license. The law in question is the first legal effort targeting state-level control in this field, despite the rapid growth in the digital asset sector.
Main Objectives of the New Regulation
The bill passed by the Florida Senate will require companies that want to issue stablecoins to obtain a license from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The aim of the regulation is to align government oversight with rules set at the federal level. Republican Senator Colleen Burton pointed out that the law creates a parallel framework with the federal law called the Genius Act, which plans to strengthen consumer rights and ensure financial stability.
The bill has now been submitted to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for approval. If enacted, Florida would be the first state in the US to create its own stablecoin regulation.
Discussions Continue Across the USA
Governor Ron DeSantis is known as a political figure who is generally supportive of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. During his presidential campaign, he made promises that Bitcoin and digital assets would be protected from restrictive practices. Florida had previously become the first region to ban the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) across state borders. Governor DeSantis shared the view that digital currencies issued by the state could pose a threat to private cryptocurrencies and increase financial supervision.
Stablecoins have recently become the focus of attention of decision-makers in Washington and across the country. Last year, the Genius Act, signed by US President Donald Trump, introduced new standards for the issuance of dollar-based digital currencies. Under the law, banks or approved institutions can issue stablecoins that are backed by assets such as US Treasury bonds and provide transparency through monthly reports.
Despite these steps, discussions continue on how to control digital assets in the broad field. The Clarity Act bill, which was brought to the agenda in Congress, caused tensions between cryptocurrency companies and traditional financial institutions. For example, Coinbase advocates that users can receive rewards for holding stablecoins, while banking groups point out that such incentives could divert deposits away from conventional banks.
President Trump also recently got involved in the discussions and stated that banks should not block crypto-friendly policies.
Different Approaches Are Observed in Asia
Various approaches to stablecoin regulation are being implemented on a global scale. Japan established a legal structure for stablecoin issuance in 2023. Hong Kong plans to license stablecoin issuers as of this year.
Although China briefly started a trial period last year in which private companies could issue yuan-based tokens, it later stopped these programs. The country’s central bank has introduced a system that allows interest payments on balances held in digital yuan wallets from early 2026. Lu Lei, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of China, stated that with this change, e-CNY will be integrated into banks’ balance sheet management rather than just a cash equivalent.
The volume of stablecoin transactions on a global scale reached 33 trillion dollars, an increase of 72 percent compared to the previous year. USD Coin, which is leading in transaction volume, carried out transactions of 18.3 trillion dollars, while Tether carried out transactions of 13.3 trillion dollars. In terms of market value, USDT continued its leadership and reached a size of 187 billion dollars.
