Amid this week’s crypto market correction, Ark Invest’s CEO and CIO, Catie Wood, has slashed her 2030 bullish forecast for Bitcoin (BTC), highlighting the global momentum of the stablecoin sector.

Stablecoins Overtake Part Of BTC’s Role

On Thursday, Ark Invest’s CEO, Cathie Wood, joined CNBC’s “Squawk Box” to discuss Bitcoin’s price, her thoughts on stablecoins’ growth, and how her previous bullish forecast for the flagship crypto has evolved over the past year.

In the interview, Wood underscored that the rapid rise of stablecoins is taking on a role she thought BTC would handle, leading to a 20% reduction of her $1.5 million prediction by 2030. It’s worth noting that the investment management firm has previously affirmed that the leading cryptocurrency could serve as a store of value and a global settlement system.

“Stablecoins are usurping part of the role that we thought bitcoin would play,” Wood affirmed on Thursday morning. “Given what’s happening to stablecoins, which are serving emerging markets in a way that we thought bitcoin would, I think we could take maybe $300,000 off of that bullish case just for stablecoins.”

 

“Emerging markets are huge in this regard,” she said, adding that “we’re starting to see institutions in the United States focused on new payment rails, with stablecoins at the core. So very interesting movement.”

Notably, the sector has seen rapid adoption following the enactment of the GENIUS Act in the US, with other leading jurisdictions, including the UK and South Korea, pushing to establish their own regulatory framework in the coming months.

Similarly, multiple leading companies in the traditional payment system are preparing strategic moves into the stablecoin sector. Last week, the global financial services company Western Union announced its plan to launch the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) on the Solana blockchain.

To Wood, “Stablecoins are scaling here much faster than anyone would have expected,” making it a space to watch in the future.

Wood Is Still Bullish On Bitcoin

Despite recalibrating her 2030 bull case, Ark Invest’s CEO emphasized that she remains bullish on Bitcoin, noting that growing institutional adoption will be a powerful driver for long-term value.

Currently, the flagship cryptocurrency has declined 20% from its October 6 all-time high (ATH) of $126,000, briefly falling below the $100,000 mark earlier this week. Nonetheless, most market analysts and investors remain bullish on BTC’s long-term performance.

Wood highlighted that “Bitcoin is a global monetary system, it is the lead in a new asset class, and it’s a technology, all wrapped in one.” She added that institutional participation in the sector has only begun, stating, “Institutions really have just dipped their toes into this space. We have just started, so we have a long way to go.”

The CEO closed her observations by affirming that the broader crypto ecosystem is expanding, not contracting. “I think the whole space gets bigger,” she concluded.

The U.S. Senate is making progress toward digital asset market structure legislation, while a fight between U.S. banks and Coinbase is looming.

The post US defibrillates market structure talks; banks v Coinbase gets nasty appeared first on CoinGeek.

Canada is now taking steps to regulate the fiat-backed tokens. Canada’s 2025 federal budget has unveiled plans to establish new stablecoin regulation to harness the potential of these assets while mitigating associated risks.

According to the budget document, the forthcoming legislation will require stablecoin issuers to maintain adequate reserves, implement clear redemption policies, establish sound risk management practices, and ensure user data protection. This new regulatory framework will forge the future of digital payments in Canada and follows a trend of the Canadian government and financial regulators closely observing the possible opportunities and risks associated with fiat-backed cryptocurrencies.

Canadian Stablecoin Regulation: Key Details to Watch

Canada’s federal budget for 2025 has introduced plans to regulate fiat-backed stablecoins, replicating the USA’s GENIUS Act initiative. This is part of an effort to foster safe innovation and protect users as the digital asset ecosystem rapidly grows.

Stablecoins will be part of a bigger framework to modernize payments to improve the speed and security of financial transactions. Cryptocurrency issuers that are tied to fiat, like the Canadian dollar or the U.S. dollar, will need to maintain appropriate reserves and must operate under strict national security requirements. The document read,

“The legislation will also include national security safeguards to support the integrity of the framework so that fiat-backed stablecoins are safe and secure for consumers and businesses to use.”

The Bank of Canada will oversee the new stablecoin regulatory framework, with a $10 million allocation over two years starting in 2026-27. The ongoing annual costs of $5 million will be covered by fees from regulated stablecoin issuers.

Also, the Canadian government is in the process of revising the Retail Payment Activities Act to take regulatory oversight of payment service providers using stablecoin. This would create proper control and guidelines for stablecoin transactions as a method of consumer protection and financial stability.

Will Canadian Stablecoin Regulation Address Risks and Vulnerabilities?

The Canadian budget’s anticipated framework for regulating stablecoins is a clear acknowledgment of the risks posed by the stablecoin digital asset class. As a recent and striking example, TerraUSD (UST) lost its peg to the US dollar and saw over $60 billion in market capitalization evaporate, demonstrating the instability inherent in the stablecoin market.

As Chainalysis states, even stablecoins that are well-positioned and widely used in everyday transactions – such as USDC and DAI – are subject to risks. Citing the Euler Finance hack and Curve Finance exploit as notable examples, Chainalysis stated,

“These cases show how stablecoin-related breaches can cascade across decentralized finance (DeFi), centralized exchanges, and even institutions with crypto exposure…A significant depegging event could compel institutions to realize losses, with knock-on effects for their conventional operations.”

Stablecoins Gain Global Momentum

Significantly, Canada’s stablecoin regulation and acceptance aligns with a global trend, following the US’s lead in passing the GENIUS Act, which established key rules for dollar-backed cryptocurrencies. The movement towards clear regulations is reflected in Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the work being done in Japan and South Korea.

The world of stablecoins, which is now worth roughly $309.1 billion, is expected to see impressive growth, with the most optimistic buyers predicting a whopping $2 trillion market by 2028. Besides that, Standard Chartered predicts that up to $1 trillion could shift from emerging market bank deposits to US dollar-backed stablecoins.

Conclusion

Canada’s determination to set up regulations for fiat-backed stablecoins is a major move towards the equilibrium of innovation and stability in the digital finance world. By instituting specific regulations, oversight, and consumer safeguards, Canada intends to instill trust in digital payments and at the same time be a part of the global regulation trend that is growing larger.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the rationale for Canada’s new stablecoin regulation?
   To ensure that stablecoins are safe, transparent, and fully-backed by reserves.
2. Who is going to be in charge of the stablecoin framework in Canada?
   The Bank of Canada will regulate and supervise the stablecoin issuers.
3. How does Canada’s approach stack up against international approaches?
   It is consistent with broader efforts worldwide, including in the US GENIUS Act and Europe’s MiCA framework.

Glossary

• Stablecoin: It is a form of digital money that gets its value from a reliable asset, such as a fiat currency, in order to prevent price fluctuations.
• Fiat-backed stablecoin: It is a kind of digital money that derives its value from the physical reserves of fiat currencies like Canadian and U.S. dollars.
• GENIUS Act: A U.S. legislative measure that provides a framework for dollar-backed stablecoin regulation.
• MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets): The EU’s regulatory mindset towards cryptocurrencies generally and towards stablecoins specifically.
• DeFi (Decentralized Finance): An economic system that relies on blockchain technology and does not involve conventional intermediaries like banks.

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