At Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas, stablecoins ended up stealing the spotlight — not Bitcoin. This shift in focus highlighted how fast stablecoins are influencing both the financial and political landscape in the U.S.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the crowd of 35,000, calling stablecoins a "force multiplier" for the U.S. economy and expressing full support for crypto innovation. He explained that stablecoins don’t threaten the U.S. dollar but actually strengthen its global role.

Bo Hines, a White House official, explained that integrating stablecoins into U.S. financial systems could drive huge global demand for U.S. debt. This plan depends heavily on the GENIUS Act — a proposed law that would regulate stablecoin issuers. Senator Cynthia Lummis said a vote on it is coming soon, and there's hope it will be the first digital asset law passed by the Senate.

In the House, Republicans are also moving quickly. Rep. Tom Emmer and Rep. Bryan Steil are leading efforts to align the House version with the Senate's. They want both the stablecoin and broader crypto market bills signed by President Trump before August. They believe this will help ensure the dollar stays the world’s main reserve currency.

Tether, which already holds over 60% of the stablecoin market, is among the top global buyers of U.S. Treasuries. Its CEO, Paolo Ardoino, argued that half the world remains underserved by banks and that Tether aims to fill this gap — not just serve wealthy customers like traditional banks plan to.

Meanwhile, Kraken’s CEO Dave Ripley stressed that upcoming legislation is key to allowing major banks and brokers to fully join the crypto world. But some issues — such as how profits and yields from stablecoins will be handled — are still being debated.

A big policy shift is also happening at the SEC. Under President Trump’s new leadership, the agency is stepping back from harsh enforcement and leaning toward offering more regulatory clarity. Commissioner Hester Peirce welcomed this long-overdue change.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev added that tokenization — turning traditional assets into digital tokens — is closer than ever and might not even need Congress to act. He believes the SEC can move forward with it directly.

Altogether, Bitcoin 2025 showed that stablecoins could define the next chapter of crypto — not just for investors, but for the entire global financial system.