Management

Banks Can No Longer Ignore Stablecoins

The GENIUS Act has made cryptocurrency payments inevitable. Banks need infrastructure to support it.

Aaron Cheiffetz is Executive Strategist and Field CIO of Financial Services for CDW.

It didn’t get much attention in the mainstream press at the time, but the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law in July, represents one of the most significant regulatory shifts the financial services industry has seen in years. By establishing clear rules for payment stablecoins, the law brings digital tokens — fully backed by U.S. dollar or other short-term treasury reserves — into the mainstream as regulated, reliable instruments for payments and settlement.

For traditional banks, this development is both a challenge and an opportunity. The GENIUS Act sets up domestic regulatory clarity that may support the kind of faster cross-border payments that stablecoins support, near-instant settlement and new forms of custody services. But they also invite competition from payment platforms and fintech providers who are often more agile with new technologies.

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Historically, many depository institutions have avoided digital assets, preferring to wait for clearer regulatory guidance. With the GENIUS Act in place, that guidance has arrived. Banks that don’t engage may face the risk of losing deposits and customer relationships as clients turn to platforms that already support stablecoin payments.

The question is no longer whether they will influence the future of banking, but how quickly banks can adapt.

Banks’ IT Infrastructure May Need Updates

Stablecoin services cannot be layered on top of outdated systems. Core banking systems were not designed for tokenized money movement, and compliance requirements under the GENIUS Act — including reserve standards, Know Your Customer and anti-money laundering — bring additional complexity. So, while the law makes no specific mandates concerning technology infrastructure, the reality is that stablecoin services demand resilient, flexible and secure infrastructure.

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This is where modernization becomes essential. Hybrid cloud environments, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven compliance tools all play a role in making stablecoin operations both scalable and safe. Banks that upgrade their infrastructure now will be ready to innovate; those that hesitate risk being locked out of new revenue opportunities.

At CDW, we work with financial institutions every day to bridge the gap between vision and execution. Supporting banks as they adapt to the GENIUS Act means focusing on three priorities:

Hybrid infrastructure: Stablecoin adoption will increase the speed and volume of transactions. We help design and implement infrastructure that can scale securely while maintaining resilience.
Risk and compliance: New regulatory obligations require robust governance. Our teams provide risk assessments and compliance solutions tailored to digital asset operations.
AI and governance: As banks adopt AI to monitor transactions and manage compliance in real time, we ensure these systems are deployed responsibly and in alignment with industry standards.

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Banks of All Sizes Affected

This shift is not merely for big banks; mid-sized and community banks cannot afford to be left behind. With the right partners, they can access the same enterprise-grade solutions without the overhead of building everything in-house.

The GENIUS Act marks the beginning of stablecoins as a mainstream payment mechanism in the United States. For banks, this is not a speculative experiment but a structural shift in how money moves. The institutions that invest now in infrastructure, compliance and digital innovation will be well positioned to strengthen customer relationships and maintain relevance in a rapidly evolving market.

The future of banking is about leveraging the trust and regulatory foundation of banks with the speed and efficiency of digital assets. The GENIUS Act accelerates that journey, and we are here to help institutions move forward with confidence.

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