Solana Stablecoins Now Book Flights With 300 Airlines

The GENIUS Act's Section 4(a)(11), enacted in July 2025, now explicitly bars permitted stablecoin issuers from paying holders any interest or yield tied to holding tokens, locking in a business model built on reserve income the issuers keep entirely. Tether, issuer of USDT, ranks as the 17th-largest holder of US Treasuries globally with approximately $141 billion in direct and indirect Treasury exposure as of Q1 2026, per its BDO Italia attestation, while Morgan Stanley projects stablecoin issuers could collectively hold $1.2 trillion in US Treasuries by 2030. Circle's FY2025 SEC 10-K showed $2.75 billion in total revenue, of which $2.64 billion, or 96%, came from reserve income, yet the company still posted a $70 million net loss as distribution costs reached $1.66 billion, including approximately $1.36 billion to Coinbase and a $152.1 million increase attributable to Binance. Tether, lacking a partner on Coinbase's scale, retains roughly 3.0 to 3.5 cents per dollar annually versus Circle's 0.8 to 1.0 cents, posting $13 billion in net profit in 2024 and $1.04 billion in Q1 2026 with excess reserves of $8.23 billion. In September 2026 Circle sold $100 million in equity to Binance, 1,237,011 Class A shares at $80.84 per share, a 5% discount, alongside a five-year agreement paying Binance a monthly incentive fee on USDC held through Circle's Modular Smart Contract Wallet infrastructure, as the January 18, 2027 enforcement cliff approaches with Tether holding roughly 60% market dominance and Circle at 24%.

Binance has bought roughly 1.24 million Class A shares of Circle at $80.84 per share, for a total value of about $100 million, a price roughly 5% below the market level before the deal closed. Binance will be unable to sell or hedge this block of shares for up to two years, but it retains normal shareholder voting rights. The deal is more than an investment: the two sides signed a five-year agreement to drive USDC usage across Binance's global platforms, especially in emerging markets. Binance will help push adoption of USDC, while Circle will handle the underlying infrastructure. Under the agreement, Circle will pay Binance a monthly incentive fee calculated from the volume of USDC held through Circle's wallet infrastructure. USDC is currently the world's second-largest stablecoin, with a market value of about $75 billion, while Binance has a vast global user base, giving Circle a distribution channel and giving Binance both a stake in Circle and revenue from the partnership. It underscores that competition in the stablecoin market is no longer measured by the size of a coin alone, but by which one has the most channels for people to actually use it.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to promote overseas use of dollar-denominated stablecoins through joint ventures with private companies, Bloomberg reported on September 23. The aim is to shore up the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency and boost demand for US Treasuries. The backdrop is the GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, which established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and required issuers to hold one-to-one backing in US dollars or short-term Treasuries. The US Treasury published proposed rules on August 17 to implement the law and opened a public comment period, with the law scheduled to take effect on January 18, 2027. According to the Treasury, stablecoin issuers already hold about 200 billion dollars' worth of US Treasuries and short-dated government securities. The plan is said to involve the Treasury, the State Department, and the US International Development Finance Corporation, but it remains under consideration, and the target countries, partner companies, funding scale, and timing have not been disclosed.