Privatizing the Dollar: What the GENIUS Act Really Does
This week, Congress passed the GENIUS Act—a bill pitched as a way to regulate stablecoins and protect consumers. On the surface, it looks like smart policy: coins backed by real dollars, clear rules, and protections against scams.
But that’s only part of the story.
Behind the technical language is a sweeping change in how the U.S. controls its currency—and who benefits from it.
As one analyst at Macro Pulse put it:
“We didn’t regulate the future of money. We privatized it—then gave Washington the off button.”
Let’s break down what’s really going on—and how it connects to Trump’s growing financial influence.
What the GENIUS Act Actually Does
The GENIUS Act creates a legal framework for stablecoins—digital tokens that are pegged to the U.S. dollar. The law says these coins must be backed 1:1 by cash, short-term U.S. Treasury debt, or Federal Reserve balances.
That might sound boring. But here’s what it really means:
• Private companies like PayPal, Circle, or even politically connected firms like World Liberty Financial can now issue their own versions of the dollar.
• The Federal Reserve can shut down any coin it deems a risk, with no public explanation.
• A separate law passed alongside GENIUS bans the Fed from creating its own digital currency, effectively handing the job to the private sector.
• Red states can issue their own licenses, creating a patchwork of rules and a race to the bottom on oversight.
Most shockingly, the bill exempts the President and their family from ethics rules that apply to Congress. While lawmakers are banned from investing in stablecoins, the White House is not—unless you can prove “malicious intent.”
That’s a very convenient loophole if your last name is Trump.
Why This Matters for U.S. Power
In The Dollar Empire, we explored how the U.S. rose to global power by making the dollar the backbone of international trade and finance.
The GENIUS Act takes that foundation and outsources it to private companies. These new digital dollars will likely spread quickly across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia—especially in places where access to traditional banks is limited.
That may sound like progress, but it also means the U.S. can now enforce sanctions, cut off wallets, and freeze accounts instantly—through corporate APIs, not government channels. It’s financial power on autopilot, and it’s not always democratic.
Trump’s Golden Ticket
In The Golden Tickets, we showed how Trump has built a fortune by selling access, loyalty, and financial products dressed up as patriotism.
The GENIUS Act gives him something even more valuable: a way to profit from the U.S. dollar itself.
With the ethics exemption in place, Trump and his allies could launch a MAGA-branded stablecoin tomorrow—and it would be legal. Backed by Treasury debt, boosted by the law, and protected from real oversight, this coin wouldn’t just be a gimmick. It would be a government-blessed product with built-in buyers.
And if things go wrong? The public—not the issuer—could bear the fallout, just like we saw in the 2008 crash.
The Bigger Picture
The GENIUS Act isn’t just about crypto. It’s a shift in how money, power, and politics work in the United States:
It creates constant demand for government debt through stablecoin reserves.
It allows political families to profit from the very policies they influence.
It removes a public alternative (a Federal Reserve digital dollar) in favor of private versions.
It hands new powers to the Fed—without public accountability.
In the long run, this could reshape global finance, weaken public trust in money, and deepen the connection between political influence and private profit.
Bottom line
GENIUS doesn’t just regulate crypto. It changes who controls the dollar—and who gets to cash in on it.