At the Consensus Miami 2026 conference on May 8, leaders from MoonPay, Ripple, and Paxos shared their perspectives on how recent U.S. stablecoin regulation has reshaped the competitive environment for dollar-pegged tokens. According to these executives, the new rules have made it much easier for traditional financial institutions to enter a market that previously seemed daunting. However, they also pointed out that this progress has brought a fresh set of challenges that still need to be tackled.
Richard Harrison, who serves as vice president of banking and payment partnerships at MoonPay, highlighted that the GENIUS Act provided a clear regulatory framework that firms in traditional finance can now navigate with confidence. He noted that this clarity has accelerated the entry of traditional finance players into the stablecoin space, as compliance becomes more straightforward. Harrison drew a parallel between stablecoin adoption and the electric vehicle industry, explaining that while the core product is effective, widespread adoption hinges on robust supporting infrastructure. He questioned how people can use stablecoins for everyday expenses like rent or a cup of coffee, emphasizing the need for practical applications.
Jack McDonald, Ripple’s senior vice president for stablecoins, emphasized that institutional clients are more concerned with real-world utility than with market capitalization figures. They focus on regulatory compliance, secure custody, and whether stablecoins can perform useful functions beyond trading. McDonald stated that Ripple is prioritizing treasury operations, collateral management, and cross-border payment settlement as key enterprise use cases. He argued that adoption must be driven by utility rather than speculation. Harrison also noted that stablecoins currently account for only a small fraction of global remittance flows, but he predicted that this could grow to roughly 10% over the next five years as payment systems improve and more merchants integrate digital dollar services.
Brent Perrault, a senior staff software engineer at Paxos, identified privacy as the most persistent unresolved challenge in the stablecoin sector. Public blockchains expose transaction details and fund flows, raising compliance and confidentiality issues for businesses handling sensitive data. Perrault warned that partial privacy solutions are inadequate because users frequently move between private and public blockchain environments. He added that competitive differentiation among stablecoin issuers is now increasingly driven by trust, distribution partnerships, and user incentives rather than technical specifications alone.
Perrault also pointed to the growth of PayPal USD and Charles Schwab’s use of Paxos infrastructure as evidence that demand from established financial institutions is real and expanding beyond crypto-native firms. However, he noted that even well-capitalized issuers with strong compliance records face significant friction when trying to connect stablecoin rails to everyday payment systems. The panel’s comments came as the CLARITY Act moves toward its Senate Banking Committee markup, with major banking trade groups rejecting a compromise language just days before the vote. The executives did not directly address the markup, but their remarks underscored the importance of regulatory outcomes for companies building stablecoin payment products at scale.
The stablecoin market currently holds approximately 317 billion dollars in total value. Western Union recently announced its USDPT stablecoin on Solana, issued through Anchorage Digital. This development reflects the dynamic that Harrison described: regulation has lowered the barrier to entry, but the infrastructure needed for stablecoins to function in everyday consumer contexts is still under construction.
